Time of Our Lives
by Peachy Papayas
Summary: Lily knows how difficult things are for a person of her birth. She's not stupid. But, by Merlin, she's going to triumph above it all and enjoy herself, too, with perhaps a spot of help from her cheeky friends and a certain messy haired boy... DISCONTINUED
1. First Encounters

Disclaimer: Character and settings are property of J.K. Rowling. What you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: This is not, I repeat, _not, _the sequel to 'A Marauder's Girl.' Yes, this is set in the Marauder time frame, but it's an entirely different story. The character names might seem familiar, but I've changed quite a few personalities from that story, and this should not be taken as related in any way to that universe. You've been warned. (For those of you who _did _read A Marauder's Girl, there's nothing to fear. I **_will_**write the sequel. In due time. Patience.)

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Time Of Our Lives Chapter 1 – First Encounters 

August 1976

"Oi, you seen the Prophet this morning?" came a voice near Lily's ear. She turned, so that she was face-to-face with the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. With a smirk twisting the corners of her mouth, she quickly gave Janine Garnet a shove, so that the other girl tumbled off her bed, still clutching a rolled-up Daily Prophet.

Lily laughed as Janine swore at her, her green eyes dancing. When Janine began to repeat herself, Lily cut her off with a smile. "What's in it?"

Janine sobered so quickly that Lily knew at once that it wasn't good. "Take a look," she said softly, and threw the newspaper at Lily, who quickly unrolled it and began to scan the front page, which bore its headline in large block letters. " 'Another One Bites the Dust'," Lily read, and then scoffed. "How unoriginal…" Humming, she continue to skim, reading aloud choice bits, feeling the awkward twisted feeling in her stomach that she always got after another attack. "Bennet Everard… room locked from the inside… no body?" Lily paused, and then continued reading, and then cried aloud indignantly. "Would you listen to this! 'Law Enforcement officials say that Everard was "always a bit mad," especially after his recent divorce from his second wife. Inspector Robards suggests that he may have faked his death like the infamous Janus Thickey three years ago…' What rubbish," Lily declared as she finished. She tossed it aside and frowned at Janine. "What's your bet?"

The other girl looked thoughtful. "Death Eaters, probably. But hiding the body – be a bit difficult, wouldn't it?"

"Not overly, if they managed to disable the Apparition wards on the house," replied Lily softly. "All they'd have to do was disable the wards, break in, kill him and take the body, and then lock the door, apparate out."

"Don't you think the authorities might have noticed if the wards were down and suspected something like that?" replied Janine critically.

"Stands to reason that if they could disable the wards, they could re-enable them again, couldn't they?" Lily sighed. "Robards suggested… you remember Gawain Robards, don't you?"

"Of course I do. He was a sixth year when we were ickle firsties, wasn't he?"

"Seventh," corrected Lily. "And unless I'm mistaken, he was a bit of an idiot."

"Not true," protested Janine, flicking her fringe from her eyes. She frowned at Lily. "All right, I suppose he was, a bit, but really, he was just very superstitious. Besides, I think the Janus Thickey incident was one of the first cases he took on as an Inspector for the DMLE, and it did made him look stupid. S'pose he doesn't want another one like that."

"Possibly." Lily pursed her lips. "Of course, that's what you get for putting someone so green as an Inspector. He must've been… what, twenty when was made an Inspector?"

"Something like that," answered Janine, still examining her fringe. "You know, I look bloody awful with bangs." Lily rolled her eyes. "D'you have a pair of scissors?"

"What, are you mad? Give you sharp objects? Not on your life. Besides," she added when Janine gave her a baleful look, "you're a bloody witch, aren't you? What do you need scissors for? Just use your wand."

"Should I trim them, then?"

"I wouldn't advise it. Do you remember when Sirius Black tried to cut his own hair? He looked like he'd been run over with a lawnmower."

"A what?"

"Never mind. It's a Muggle thing."

"Oh. Well, you know, he was drunk." She sighed. "By the way, I don't suppose I told you, did I? Quince and I broke up again."

Lily snorted in laughter. It was common knowledge that Janine was more or less incapable of holding a steady relationship. She went on dates to Hogsmeade with any number of boys, if only just to bring back amusing stories, but so far, none of them had enjoyed a repeat visit with the exception of a Slytherin boy in their year by the name of Quincy Travers. Although Lily didn't particularly like Travers much – "He's a poncy git," she told Janine one day – they more or less tolerated one another, with the obvious exception of the deep looks of loathing Travers threw her when Janine wasn't around. Still, she had to applaud Janine's efforts for going against the grain and dating a boy from Slytherin. There weren't many Gryffindors who would do that.

In any case, since beginning a relationship somewhere in the middle of fourth year, Janine and Travers had had an on-and-off relationship. They thrived on messy arguments, preferably ones that took place in the middle of a large, densely populated area. Lily found them irresistibly amusing, if only because she would listen to Janine complain for days on the many faults of Quincy Travers, only to date him again the following week, during which Lily would have to listen to the many talents of Quincy Travers instead.

"Don't laugh at me," she told Lily, looking injured, although she rolled her eyes eventually and added in a dry voice, "Although I suppose we are a bit amusing—" This sent Lily into gales of laughter, which did not subside even as her older sister Petunia stalked into her bedroom.

"Do you mind?" she demanded crossly. Although Lily and Petunia rarely got along very well these days, she usually wasn't so testy. Lily suspected it had something to do with Janine, whom Petunia held no fondness for. ("All that silly time playing sports; she's a complete airhead, how can you stand her?" Lily never bothered to point out to Petunia, who was very set in her ways, that Janine was hardly an airhead; it really didn't seem worth it). "Vernon and I are trying to watch a video down-" But her words were drowned out by Lily's sniggers, and she cried angrily, "Grow up!" before stalking out and slamming the door shut behind her.

As Lily's laughter trailed off, Janine asked dryly, "Would it be awful if I went downstairs and did something bad?"

Lily considered this for a moment, and then smirked. "Well, that depends. D'you want to see them sucking face?" The two girls contemplated this rather disgusting image for a few moments, before pulling identical, revolted faces.

"Time for a change of subject, I think," said Janine hastily, and then she grinned abruptly. Lily felt a sense of foreboding. "Did Potter send you anything for your birthday?"

"Yes, he did, that insufferable git!" she cried indignantly. "And I sent it back!" Then she scowled darkly, and added, "Even though it was the new record by the Billywig Stings which you can't get anywhere—" She frowned at Janine, who was roaring with laughter. Lily heard a few bangs from below and a "SHUT UP!" but she ignored it. "Don't suppose you have it," she mumbled, looking sulky.

"Not yet, but I've ordered it by post and it should arrive in the next couple of days." She paused. "Unless, of course, Mum cancelled my order. She reckons that I ought to be reading more, not spending my days listening to music and playing Quidditch."

Lily couldn't quite fault Mrs. Garnet for this. She'd only met the woman a few times, but Janine's mother had come across as a particularly refined and charming woman, the perfect wife for any pureblooded wizard. Then again, Mr. Garnet was a Quidditch player and liked the fact that Janine preferred Muggle jeans to a fashionable skirt and robes any day, and he also seemed to enjoy the constant struggles for dominance between his wife and his only daughter about this particular fact.

Because pureblooded or no, Janine certainly didn't act like one of those rich, snobbish girls that put so much faith in blood and the latest fashions and what boys thought of them. She hardly cared that half of her jeans were ripped from traipsing through the woods, and that most of her shirts were Quidditch jerseys or comfortable clothes suitable for playing sports in.

Until the fourth year, when Janine had inexplicably arrived late to Potions class and somehow ended up paired with Lily for the potion of the day, the girls hadn't been friends. Acquaintances, maybe, but certainly not friends. But Lily had made a sarcastic comment, and Janine had retorted with some line directly quoted from Shakespeare, which led to a conversation about the famous playwright, and many more besides. And since then, they'd been the best of friends, almost as though they had always been that way.

In any case, prior to the Shakespeare conversation, Janine had come across as the general tomboy of the Gryffindor house, interested only in Quidditch and what latest scheme her friends – James Potter and Sirius Black and their lot – were coming up with. Lily had never pegged her as a girl who read books on complex potions for fun, or spent some of her Sunday afternoons in bed, reading a favorite play.

Since the fourth year, the girls had discovered more than a common love for Shakespeare. They shared a general loathing for the god-awful strains of Celestina Warbeck, as well as a deep disgust for the girls who threw themselves at boys' feet, and many other things besides.

Looking back on it, Lily wondered how she and Janine had never had a serious conversation up until the fourth year, and how she'd managed to miss out.

"Lily? You're a million miles away. Come back." Lily frowned at Janine, who was smirking. "Thinking on Lover-Boy?"

"Lover-Boy?" repeated Lily quizzically.

"Yes, your darling James." Lily snatched the Prophet and smacked Janine on the butt with it. "Don't kill the messenger," Janine said, snagging the newspaper from her friend and tossing it casually in the corner. "Are we going out tonight, or staying in?"

"Oh, I don't know. I was thinking about a nice night in, but with Vernon here…"

Janine grimaced. "Yes, I see where that might be a problem. Tell you what, you ring up Dorcas and have her meet us in… oh, go on, the Serpent's Tongue? At eight or so."

Lily's eyebrows rose. "And pray tell, what are you going to do in the meantime?"

Janine smirked. "Rummage through your closet for something hot to wear, of course."

"Don't be ridiculous. You wouldn't fit into a thing I own, you're so much taller than I am. Any skirt that's short on me would be even worse on you."

"Like I'd wear a skirt on a night like this," Janine shot back, dusting off her pale jeans. "I'll just borrow a top."

"I'm… er…" Lily flushed. "Face it, Janine, I'm curvier than you are."

"I'll just shrink one of yours! Why are you still here? Go call Dorcas!" Rolling her eyes, Lily disappeared off to give their other compatriot, Dorcas Meadowes, a call.

An hour and a half later, Lily and Janine found themselves seated at the bar in one of the more crowded wizarding bars hidden around London, complete with dismal lighting, a filthy bar, bright green walls, and two drinks that were green, smoking, and rather noxious-looking. Lily grimaced at her drink before glancing up, only to find a girl no older than fifteen dancing on top of a table, while several boys shook sickles and galleons at her.

"Look at her," Lily grumbled morosely, finally consenting to take a sip of the creation in front of her. It burned all the way down her throat. "I mean, where's her life going?"

"Probably to hell, if it's not already there." A girl with long honey-blond hair and friendly hazel eyes fell into a seat between the two. Dorcas Meadows stole the remainder of Lily's drink, tossing it back in one long draught. Setting the glass down (it was still smoking), she grimaced. "My God, what was that?"

"Called the Serpent Eye," Janine said thoughtfully, frowning into it. "I think there might be vodka in it, but I don't know what else."

"I didn't taste any vodka."

"Neither did I, but I think it might be in there." Janine scowled down into her drink, before drinking the whole thing. Lily watched in mild interest as her friend's face turned several shades of red before returning somewhat to normal.

Janine ordered another one. Lily watched as she began to drink that one, too, until she asked, rather sweetly, "Isn't that Travers in the corner, snogging that blonde?"

This was, perhaps, not the most intelligent thing to do, because it caused Janine to spray Dorcas with her drink as she spat it out. With a very baleful glance in Lily's direction, as if it were entirely her fault (which it certainly was), Dorcas began to dry herself off with a napkin as Janine hissed, "That arse! Who does he think he is?"

"Well, he clearly doesn't think himself your boyfriend," suggested Lily dryly. "Which, by the way, he is not. Are you jealous?" She looked at Janine's face, which was turning a rather unattractive shade of plum, although that might have been a mixture of resentment and the alcohol she'd just consumed. "You're jealous," she confirmed, nodding. "Go get into a fight with him. There are plenty of people here to watch."

Janine apparently didn't realize Lily was mocking her, because she got to her feet and stalked towards Travers. Lily and Dorcas (now dried off) watched in morbid fascination as Janine quite literally ripped her ex-boyfriend away from his new toy, slapped him across the face, and produce a litany of very impressive swearwords.

Five minutes later, the pair of them were snogging in a manner that probably should have been illegal. Dorcas frowned in their direction. "You know, I can't for the life of me understand what those two have in common."

"Probably nothing." Lily watched Travers's hand snake up Janine's (well, actually, it was Lily's) shirt. "Well, maybe they do."

"Oh?" Dorcas's eyebrows rose. "What, then?"

"Sex." Lily smirked.

"No, sorry, I don't see it. As far as I can tell, Janine's very much a girl, and Travers is very much a boy."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Not that kind of sex, you idiot, the other kind. You know, the kind where you take your clothes off and do naughty things in a bed?"

"First off, I'm not an idiot, because I'm a Ravenclaw, and Ravenclaws are very obviously not idiots. Secondly, you can do naughty things out of a bed, too, or have you never tried that?"

"I refuse to answer that question," replied Lily shortly, but a smile was growing on her face. "You just want to know if anything ever came of that time I kissed Sirius Black in the fifth year. On a dare, I might add."

"Well, yes," admitted Dorcas without a trace of shame. "You would never tell me, and I figure I may be able to persuade you to tell me, particularly as you've had a drink, or at least part of one. So. Did anything come of it?"

"Yes. James Potter and Sirius Black had an almighty row over it in the middle of the common room, and I disappeared with Remus Lupin for an hour or two."

"Ooh, that's scandalous. Were you drunk and doing naughty things?"

"Drunk, yes. Doing naughty things, unfortunately not."

"That's not very detailed."

"Oh, sorry." Lily cleared her throat. "Well, first we were just chatting, wanting to get away from all the noise Potter and Black were making, and next thing I knew, we were snogging in a manner rather like Janine and Travers over there, and he had strategically maneuvered his hand down my shirt, but then he pulled back and said James liked me and it was wrong to be doing that sort of thing."

"That's too bad."

"It most certainly was. It had taken him a good quarter of an hour to get his hand under that ridiculous shirt Janine lent me. You know, the one with all the ties?"

"Yes, I remember. That really is too bad."

"You're telling me. What a perfectly good waste of a quarter of an hour. And I'd been trying to get Lupin to notice me for ages, too. But he just kept on refusing, saying he couldn't do that to James. I had to get him rather drunk to even look at me as more than a friend! But I've given up on him now, though."

"Good for you." Dorcas cleared her throat. "So I suppose you won't mind if I… er, pursue Lupin?"

"Help yourself. I do suggest you leave Black alone, though."

"I beg your pardon, Lily, but Black and I hooked up at the after-O.W.L.'s party in the Astronomy tower a year ago, and it is my rule to never do the same boy twice."

"Too much information, Dorcas."

"Sorry." She didn't look it. "You know, he is a very good kisser, though, and it is a pity about that rule. Even if I didn't have it, I'd never be able to hook up with Black again. For one thing, he's terribly unromantic. After we kissed, I asked him what he'd thought. He spends all his time spouting off all this poetry and sounding all romantic, but when it comes right down to it, he can't think of a single poetic thing to say. Would you believe he said it was 'all right?' I've never been so insulted in my life."

"Shocking."

"It is. And do you know, he can't pay attention to a girl for longer than an hour before getting bored. Imagine! Getting bored of me."

"Now that is shocking." Lily smirked. "You are many things, Meadowes, and boring is not one of them."

"Too true. The only girl he'll spend longer than an hour with is Janine, and they're not even dating! Did you ever hear how some girl went off on him for not paying enough attention to her and paying too much to Janine? She forced him to choose, and he walked away from her for his friend." Her scathing tone left no doubt that she didn't believe all that 'friends' nonsense.

"Yes, all that about being just friends. Would you believe it's actually true?"

"That's not what Ellen Brooks said. She said that they have sex every Thursday behind Greenhouse three at six o'clock. Is that true?"

"Certainly not. Every Thursday at six o'clock, they all have Quidditch practice, and that's common knowledge. Didn't you say Ravenclaws were smart?"

"I suppose Ellen's the exception, then." Dorcas pursed her lips. "You know, she really is very nice. Just a gossipmonger, that's all. Can't help it, the poor dear – she just loves to spread rumors. Oh, and of course she's mad about Black."

"Most of the school is. I had a mad crush on him in the third year, but then I actually had a conversation with him, and got over that in a hurry." Lily's smile was wry. "He talked about James for a good solid hour. I'd almost think they were lovers."

"That would certainly explain a lot. Did I ever tell you about the Christmas last year when I walked in on them—"

"Dorcas, I do not want to know the rest of that story, so you're not going to tell me and I won't hear it." She cleared her throat and decided it was high time for a change of subject. "By the way, did you notice that we have several Slytherins watching us very mistrustfully?"

"Yes, I did, actually, and I wondered why you'd selected this place in the beginning, and then I'd realized that it was most likely Janine's choice and she chose it so that she could find Travers. Am I warm?"

"Spot-on."

"I figured as much. And that was a pathetic attempt to change the subject, and if I weren't so nice, it wouldn't have been successful in the least. And I wasn't going to say anything randy, you know, they were just tussling on the floor… without their shirts on."

"Didn't I say I didn't want to know?" Dorcas shrugged. "So are you going to let me change the subject, then?"

"I suppose."

"Oh, good. Because, you know, I really am getting rather sick of that bloke with the long blond hair watching me, and I think I may just force one of those Serpent Eyes down his throat. D'you suppose he'd stop watching me then?"

Dorcas turned around without even bothering to be discreet about it to see who Lily was talking about. She turned back, rolling her eyes. "He might, you know, what with his throat burning up like that. You do realize that's Lucius Malfoy, don't you?"

Of course Lily realized it. "I didn't know," she replied off-handedly. "Did you know, Janine used to be mad about him when we were firsties? The only crush I've ever known her to have, and we weren't even friends then."

"Well, he is awfully fanciable, darling, and I have to admit, that if you're only ever going to have one crush, he's not a bad choice. But what about Travers, doesn't she have a crush on him?"

"Hardly. There's no point to having a crush on someone you're dating, is there? And as far as I can remember, they got to talking the fourth year, and next thing we all know, they're dating and rowing in the middle of the Great Hall every other day. And anyway, I'm not entirely certain why she does date him. I think it's for the drama of it all, and he suits her needs perfectly. They can have a row in the middle of any place, and she'll be the center of attention."

"Didn't we already decide it was for the sex? But you know," continued Dorcas thoughtfully, pursing her lips, "Janine could have nearly any boy she wanted in the school – I mean, it's not just that she's pretty, but she's rich too, you know, most of the pureblood boys adore the rich ones – and she goes after a poncy git like Quincy Travers. I really can't understand it."

"Neither can I. And I called Travers a poncy git, too, but she didn't appreciate that. All of sixth year – and most of fifth and some of fourth, actually – she had boys coming up and asking if they could walk her to class or carry her books or if she wanted to study. And she always said yes, you know, and went on dates dutifully, but what was wrong with all those boys? Why Travers? She could just as easily have had a very dramatic relationship with someone else, and I must say, I can't for the life of me imagine what she sees in Travers. She may as well get someone who's not a poncy git."

Dorcas didn't answer. After a moment's pause, she said, "We are truly pathetic to be sitting here analyzing our friend's love life. Particularly when she's getting some and we're not. By the way, ten galleons says she goes home with him."

"No bet." Lily gestured for another round of Serpent Eyes. "Well, as long as we're sitting here being truly pathetic, we may as well be drunk while we're at it, wouldn't you say?"

Dorcas smiled wryly. "I'll drink to that."

An hour or two later, Lily had her head in her arms, and the room was spinning rather fast. Dorcas had slumped forward onto her seat and was scowling at her empty glass, or she would have been, except her eyes were going in two very different directions. "We're pathetic," Dorcas grumbled, slurring her words together. "There is no reason that two reasonably attractive girls like ourselves couldn't go and pick up two reasonably attractive blokes."

"Absolutely none," agreed Lily. The bright lights of the room were beginning to hurt her eyes. "I wish they would turn the lights off," she said randomly.

"They aren't really on, dear, that's just the small candles. And it's not so bright in here." She squinted. "Is it? I can't see Janine anymore. D'you s'pose she's left already?"

"It's likely." Unlike most people, Lily found herself getting more eloquent the more drunk she got. She waved to the bartender, who was studiously ignoring them. "Oi, you! Poncy git in the leather pants! Come here and fetch us something else to drink, eh?"

"More Serpent Eyes?" he asked wryly. He really was rather good-looking, Lily decided. His nose was a bit large, but she liked the way his floppy brown hair fell into his eyes. They were nice eyes, she added mentally. Hazel eyes – like Dorcas's, like Potter's, like – wait, what?

"That would be lovely, thanks." Lily smiled in what she assumed was a flirtatious manner. She scrunched up her eyes and tried to read his nametag. "…Er, Bob."

"It's Rob, actually," he offered her with a smile, "but you were fairly close."

"So'm I," said Dorcas, hoisting herself up and leaning over the bar so that their noses were an inch apart. He blinked at her in surprise. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to give us free drinks?"

He smiled, or Lily thought he did. "Well, I could. But then I wouldn't get paid."

"That seems to present a problem," Lily said solemnly.

"Yes, it does." He paused. "If you have any money left, though, I'll be happy to get you your drinks."

"They're on me," said a voice off to Lily's left. She didn't bother turning to it. "Two – what was it, Serpent Eyes?" Rob nodded stiffly. "Two of them, then, and a gin and tonic, if you would." Lily finally deigned to turn to the man, and wasn't the least surprised when she was able to connect his smooth voice with the handsome face of Lucius Malfoy. Dorcas giggled like a young girl behind her.

"Good evening, Malfoy," Lily replied in what she thought was an even voice. "Fancy running into you here."

Malfoy said nothing for a few moments, before musing (with very obvious amusement in his voice), "It's not often I run into little lionesses here." He glanced at Dorcas. "Or eagles. What brings you to the Serpent's Tongue, Miss Evans?"

It was obvious that he didn't care much for Dorcas's presence, and it was even more evident that however fanciable Lucius Malfoy may or may not have been, Dorcas didn't care for his presence much either. She stood up and announced, "I have to pee. Really badly. Will you come with me, Lily?"

"No, she won't," Malfoy said firmly. "Go throw up on your own time… what was it, again? Meadowlark?"

"Meadowes," Dorcas slurred irritably.

"For someone who was supposedly raised well," Lily contributed, "your manners are appalling, Malfoy. Didn't your mother ever teach you to be polite to a lady?"

"I see a lady and I see a very drunk little girl who ought to be in bed," Malfoy said, directing the latter part of his comment to Dorcas. She seemed to take offense to this and only proved his point by first sticking her tongue out, and then flipping him the bird.

"Fine, stay and chat with snakes, Lily. I'm goin' to the bathroom, and then I'm gonna find Rob. M'kay?"

"Okay." Lily screwed her eyes up to try and watch Dorcas wander off, and eventually gave up. Her head was beginning to hurt more fiercely, and looking at Malfoy's pale, shining hair was certainly not helping her any. "Can you turn your hair off?" she asked slowly. "Because it's really hurting my eyes."

Malfoy sighed. "Never mind your drink, then. I think it's best if I get you outside for a breath of fresh air. It will help you clear your head."

"Like I'm going to go anywhere with you, Malfoy. I might be drunk, but I'm not stupid." She crossed her eyes. "Besides, Dorcas will notice if I'm gone, and then she'll worry that you've carried me off somewhere."

"I guarantee that your friend is not going to be in any position to notice much of anything. I happen to know the bartender, however, and I'm certain Robert will take adequate care of her. In the meantime," he continued, grabbing Lily's arm firmly, "I'm going to take you outside for some fresh air."

"I have my wand," Lily warned him.

"And I have no desire to be on the other end of it. Come along."

Once outside in the back alley, Lily hoisted herself haphazardly onto a trashbin while Malfoy lit a cigarette and pointed his wand at her. Lily, drunk though she was, jerked her wand out to hex him first, but he calmly said, "Sobrius." Lily's head, although still very painful, instantly cleared, enabling her to think more clearly. What was she doing?

"The sobriety charm will not completely rid you of the effects of the alcohol," Malfoy told her, "but it will help some, as you've undoubtedly noticed. Interestingly enough, do you know what is in Serpent Eyes?"

Lily scowled up at him, wondering what had possessed her to go along with this obviously mad man. "Vodka?" she guessed.

He laughed, and then took a long drag of his cigarette, before offering it to her. Lily frowned. It felt like he was trying to corrupt her, in which case he was in for a very big disappointment. Janine and Dorcas had introduced her to cigarettes the year before.

His face betrayed no surprise when she took a long drag and handed it back, blowing smoke out from between gently parted lips. One of his eyebrows rose delicately; Lily kicked a foot back against the trashbin. "So what did you think you were doing, chatting up innocent girls like me?" She smirked as he scowled. "Especially Mudbloods," she added derisively.

"Calling yourself a Mudblood is only inviting others to do so as well," he pointed out.

"Call me what you like, Malfoy. If you buy into the current pure blood nonsense floating around, that's your business. It won't bother me."

"So I see. How old are you, Lily?"

"I haven't given you permission to call me by my first name, Malfoy," she said coldly, and then added, "I'm seventeen." You're playing with fire, Lily, she warned herself. Best be careful. She reached into her pocket for the smooth wood of her wand.

He smirked at the action. "I'm not going to harm you, you know. First off, we are in the middle of a very public place—"

"Are we? I see you, and I see me. Does that count as public?"

"Tell me, Evans, are you trying to convince me to attack you, or not to?" Lily shrugged. "If I wanted to attack you, it's unlikely I would have bothered sobering you up first."

"Fair point. What do you want, then?"

"Maybe," Malfoy said very quietly, stepping closer to her so that her knees came into contact with his body, "I want you."

She laughed. "When you have your pick of girls – of women – you pick a little Gryffindor? I'm surprised at you, Malfoy."

"I'm full of surprises."

"So I see." She pushed him away with her knees delicately, leaping to her feet. The motion caused her head to pound again, but she ignored it. "I mean it, Malfoy. What do you actually want?"

"You are undoubtedly aware that we are at war."

"Rather, Malfoy, but I don't see what that has to do with me."

"I've always thought that a fault of Gryffindors," he said, with more than a touch of annoyance in his voice, "was their overwhelming impatience."

"I've always thought," she replied in the same tone, "that a fault of Slytherins is their overwhelming presumption."

Malfoy laughed at that. "Call us what you like, Evans, but we are far from presumptuous." Something in his eyes gleamed. "I prefer to reserve my judgment."

"Do you? Because it seems to me that you are presuming that I care for what you have to say. Which I don't, not particularly. You still haven't mentioned what you want. And if you don't soon, I'm going to leave." It occurred to Lily that she ought to have done that already. "In fact, I think I'll do that anyway."

"You would be wise to listen to what I have to say."

"I doubt it is anything of particular interest to me, Malfoy." Lily moved past him. "I appreciate you buying me the drink, although I never actually got to drink it."

Malfoy smiled coldly. "You are welcome to put your bill on my tab, Evans."

"Careful, Malfoy. I'm not as scrupulous as you might think – I may actually take you up on that." She was actually considering it.

"I would be delighted if you did. It would only prove what your dear professor Horace Slughorn has been saying for years."

"Which is?"

"That you would have made a much better Slytherin than you do a Gryffindor."

Lily laughed and went inside.

Malfoy watched the door through which she'd disappeared for a few moments, before letting his cigarette drift to the ground. He crushed it finely with a boot heel, before spinning to leave the alley. He had a report to make.

X-X-X-X-X

Author's Note Numero Dos: Okay! So this is my new story, and I _love _it. I just… like the portrayal of characters better. If you don't, you're certainly entitled. I hope you read the note at the top; if not, your loss, because if you've read A Marauder's Girl and are confused, well, that's no surprise because, as I will be nice enough to repeat, the two fics are NOT related. Although those of you who have read it will recognize Janine, and note that she is very different. That's intentional.

I realize Malfoy may have been a bit OOC, and that's intentional too. All will be explained in due course, my friends. Patience! (Do I sound like Yoda? I love the way he says 'Patience.' It's funny.)

Please leave me reviews and I will ADORE you! I'm sorry for grammar errors and typos; I'm really awful at finding those myself. I should get a beta, but I'm lazy.

Review please! The more I get, the more inclined I am to post again! Xoxo Peaches

P.S. I have a request. You may have noticed, but the characters in this story are a bit more _blunt _than the last, and certainly more mature. Or maybe that's just me, but anyway… I'm rating this fic 'Teen', but if you all think it deserves a 'Mature' rating, please let me know. I will never write sex scenes (possibly the parts leading up to it, but never sex scenes) but if you think that it _is _a bit mature, do let me know, and I'll change the rating. I'd hate for this fic or any other of mine to get deleted from the site.


	2. Of Arrogance and Polyjuice

Disclaimer: Characters and settings are property of J.K. Rowling. What you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: This is not, I repeat, _not, _the sequel to 'A Marauder's Girl.' Yes, this is set in the Marauder time frame, but it's an entirely different story. The character names might seem familiar, but I've changed quite a few personalities from that story, and this should not be taken as related in any way to that universe. You've been warned.

P.S. This chapter is dedicated to Princess Myra, who is a very faithful reviewer. I love all of my reviewers, of course, but I owe Princess Myra a big one because her reviews ALWAYS get me thinking, and they're thoughtful and long, which are my favorite kind. Thank you, Princess Myra!

X-X-X-X-X

Time Of Our Lives 

_Chapter 2 – Of Arrogance and Polyjuice_

September 1970

The very first week at Hogwarts was rather difficult for one James Potter. He'd grown up an only child, and as such his parents had lavished their attentions on him, with no one else to take the spotlight. He had some friends, he supposed, but they were mostly the sons and daughters of his parents' friends, like how Emmeline Vance's mother was Delilah Vance, and a very good friend of his mother's, like how Janine Garnet's father was Will Garnet, a very good friend of his father's, like how he'd grown up knowing the Prewett Twins, both six years older than he was.

But being at Hogwarts was different. Janine was the only one of his old friends who was in his year, and he'd gotten lucky enough to have her in his house, too – although she'd confided that she nearly ended up in Ravenclaw, but had bullied the Sorting Hat into putting her in Gryffindor, or so she said – but Janine spent a good deal of time with two of the girls from her dormitory, and a number of girls from other Houses. Thus, she had little time for James Potter. Used to people's undivided attention, James found this new treatment from the general populace at large to be rather disconcerting.

It didn't help that the three other boys in his dormitory were a bit – reclusive, so to speak. Remus Lupin was perfectly nice, but he was quiet and liked to spend time in the library with another boy, Peter Pettigrew, who was ridiculously shy and seemed to flush a bright red whenever someone spoke to him. And then there was Sirius Black. James himself had only ever met one of the Blacks, and that was Narcissa Black and her mother, and then only briefly, but he'd certainly heard enough about them to know to steer clear. He vividly remembered the night his father came home from work in a thunderous mood, to rail at his mother about Orion Black, who was a prat and a pillock and a twat and all other things besides that James wasn't supposed to say. And unless he was much mistaken, Orion Black was actually Sirius's father, not a distant relative.

And so James found himself feeling very lonely and rather neglected, and so he went out of his way to make people notice him. That redheaded girl in his year, Lily something-or-the-other, screeched horribly when he charmed her hair green, and although lots of people had found it funny, she apparently hadn't, and so she avenged herself by charming his quill to scribble nonsense while he tried to do his assignments. He had to admit, it really was a very good charm, and if he'd had much inclination, he might have asked her how she'd done it. Instead, he charmed her books to slam shut each time she opened one, but that was only in late January of their first year, and we are still in September.

Emmeline Vance, who was a third-year Ravenclaw by then, was more than happy to point him in the right direction if he ever got lost and she happened upon him. As she walked him back to the Transfiguration classroom (he had that class first thing every Monday morning, and since he usually overslept, he knew the best shortcut to it and was fully capable of returning to his Tower from there), they turned a corner, chatting companionably, at least until they saw a source of trouble.

James recognized Sirius Black at once, because he was particularly distinctive in that he looked like ever other member of his family. He was being cornered by a tall girl, a Slytherin by the color of her tie, one who bore a startling resemblance to him, only much older. As they approached, James could hear snatches of their conversation.

"It isn't difficult, Sirius. Where's your sense of adventure? You used to be so much fun."

"I'm not gong off getting into trouble," said Sirius stubbornly, "everybody hates me as it is; there's no reason to make it worse!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Sirius, who said they had to know it was you? Now, listen to me. All you have to do is—"

"Oi, Bella, what are you up to?" Emmeline's voice cracked like a whip, and the girl 'Bella' turned, a malicious smirk on her face.

"None of your business, Vance; why don't you move along?"

"He's just a firstie, Bellatrix, leave him be."

"He's my cousin, and Sirius isn't scared of me. He and I are just having a nice familial conversation, and it's not your place to tell me how to speak to my cousins. Move along."

"No. Leave him alone, Bella."

"I haven't given you leave to call me Bella, Vance, so I suggest you don't. Aren't you a third-year? You should be terrified to be taking on one of the big, bad, Black sisters."

"Bellatrix, I'm not joking. Be about your business; leave the Gryffindors out of it."

"Haven't I told you he's my cousin?" demanded Bellatrix in exasperation. "It's really none of your business. Move along and stop bothering us."

"You're terrifying him!"

"I'm not terrified," interjected Sirius angrily, "and I don't need a bloody champion!" He turned to his cousin. "I've got to get back to my tower, Bella."

"Sirius, stop fretting, you aren't going to get in trouble for talking to me, just because I'm a Slytherin. And don't take that tone with me, Sirius; what would your mother say?"

"My mother can sod off."

"Don't speak of your elders so; I'll have to tell her you said that. Now listen to me, I'm your older cousin, and you can't go about ignoring me, or I'll tell Aunt Allegra, who will be frightfully upset that you've been avoiding your doting cousins." She gave him a pitying look. "You aren't still upset that I told your mother about your being in Gryffindor, are you? How utterly ridiculous, Sirius; she would have found out eventually."

"You didn't have to tell her so!" he snapped; Bellatrix retorted by shoving him against the wall with a sharp reprimand for his tone. Emmeline immediately protested.

"Stop that!"

"Are you still here? For the last time, move along, Vance."

"You may be a sixth-year, but we'll see you mouth off to McGonagall," said Emmeline firmly. "I doubt she'd be happy to hear that you're manhandling her students, Black. Now go away, or I'll report you for terrorizing the first-years."

"Are you ordering me, a member of the prestigious House of Black, to do something? I think not, Vance. Oh, no."

"Bellatrix Black! Emmeline Vance! What is going on here?" James whipped his head around, to find McGonagall striding towards them. Her eyes swept over the scene: Emmeline full of righteous anger, James a bit confused but at her side nonetheless, Bellatrix with a growing scowl on her face, and Sirius watching the entirely scene silently.

"Nothing, Professor," said Bellatrix in a sweetly unconvincing voice. "I'll see you around, Sirius," she said, adding, "We haven't finished our conversation." Her eyes danced madly as she swept away. McGonagall shook her head.

"I don't know what was going on here," said McGonagall coolly, "and I don't want to know. Mr. Black, are you all right? Do you need to be escorted to the Hospital Wing?"

Sirius scowled. "I'll be perfectly fine on my own, thanks, Professor. I'm not hurt."

"All right, then. Miss Vance, could I have a word with you in my office?" Emmeline nodded and bid James goodbye, leaving the two boys alone in the hall.

"So what happened?" asked James curiously.

"None of your sodding business," Sirius said rudely, rubbing the back of his head where it had hit the wall. Then he frowned. "You're James Potter, aren't you?"

"Yeah; why?"

"No reason. I'm a bit surprised, though. You certainly don't look like a twat to me."

James blinked. "Why would you think I was?"

"Well, my entire family says all the Potters are twats. Except for Uncle Alphard, but he doesn't show at family functions anymore, so I don't know what he thinks." Sirius cleared his throat. "I'm Sirius Black, by the way. I don't think we've ever met."

"We haven't. I met your cousin Narcissa once, though."

"Did you?" Sirius looked curious. "She's not so awful, really. It's mostly Bella that's a right pain in the arse, but only since I got sorted into Gryffindor. I suppose she was the one who told Mother about it. Every Black's ever been in Slytherin," added Sirius. "I'm the only one; even Droma was there."

"Droma?"

"Andromeda. My other cousin. Fifth-year," he added. "She's a prefect," he continued, and shook his head. "I reckon Narcissa will be one, too. She's usually good at following the rules. Bella isn't, though, she likes trouble too much. Making it and getting into it, that is."

"Oh." James shoved his hands in his pockets. "Er… d'you want to go back to the Tower, or are you heading for the Hospital Wing?"

"The Tower, I reckon, but I've no idea how to get there. I was looking for it when Bella found me." His eyes darkened slightly, then he cleared his throat and continued. "So I hope you know the way back."

"Yeah." He and Sirius started back.

"What was she trying to make you do, anyway?"

"Hex you," answered Sirius at once, causing James to stare at him. "You wanted to know," he said defensively, "and in case you're wondering, I did say no. But only because I don't need our entire house hating me more than they already do."

"Well, you are a Black."

"So? You are a Potter."

"Potters aren't bad. Blacks are."

"Are you a Black?"

"Of course not!"

"Then how would you know?"

"Because everyone says they are!" James refused to look Sirius in the eyes after that, but he'd only just realize how foolish his argument sounded. "Forget it." They walked on in silence for a bit farther. James finally chanced a quick glance at the other boy.

Sirius was looking at him curiously. "I've never met a Potter," he admitted, as though he were seeing a particular interesting magical creature. "I didn't expect someone like – well, a bit like me, I suppose. Weren't you the one who turned that Evans girl's hair green first week?"

"That was me," said James proudly.

"Not particularly inventive, that," said Sirius. James deflated slightly. "If you wanted, we could come up with some ideas to get her good, especially after that whole quill incident." His brow furrowed. "Unless, of course, you'd rather not be seen with a Black."

James paused. "I s'pose I could stand it, for a bit. I'll let you know what I think of you in a week's time – my mum always said not to judge a book by its cover."

Sirius's smile was big, although it had the tiniest hint of derision in it. "Good for you." And as the two boys headed for their dormitory, James found that he didn't really mind Sirius Black so much, mocking smile and all.

X-X-X-X-X

August 1976

James glowered down at the shiny cover of the newest album by the Billywig Stings. He'd heard girls discussing it everywhere, and he vaguely remembered Janine mentioning that she and Lily had tried everywhere for tickets to the Billywig Stings concert in Diagon Alley over last Christmas, although they'd never managed to get them. The album was nearly impossible to find anywhere; why, then, had Lily sent it back to him? Perhaps she'd gotten her own copy?

But that actually was impossible; not even Janine had hers yet. And James had gone through so much trouble to find the stupid album, scouring the stores of Diagon Alley, finding a last copy, and nearly getting into a fight over it, which culminated in him and a fourteen-year-old girl with a very large brother getting kicked out of the store, but only after James had won the fight and bought the record.

Honestly, didn't Evans see what he went through for her?

"Glowering at it won't help," said Sirius idly, shaking his shaggy hair from his eyes. James scowled at him, too. Since getting his own flat, Sirius had taken to stopping by for Sunday brunch with James's family every week, if only to see his best friend and occasionally say hello. James had been nothing short of astonished when Sirius had announced gleefully that he'd got a job in Diagon Alley to help ensure that his Uncle Alphard's assets wouldn't run out before he even got back to Hogwarts. But James had never known Sirius to do an honest day's work in his entire life – at least, that's what he told Sirius – and was therefore completely flummoxed by this turn of events. His job also meant that Sirius and James only had Sunday to fit in all of their mischief making, although James occasionally met up with his best friend in a pub on Wednesday nights.

"Shut it, you." James frowned down at the album again. Since she'd sent it back to him, with nary a scribble of 'no thanks,' even, he'd been sullen and angry. Would it really have killed to her accept his gift?

"Dunno, maybe she thought it would," said Sirius, and James realized he'd spoken aloud. "Or maybe she thought that she'd have to go out with you in return for it."

"I wouldn't have wanted anything in return!" protested James hotly. "It was a gift!" He did not add that he'd scribbled an extra note at the bottom of the birthday card he'd sent, a note that asked if she'd go out with him sometime before the end of the summer. "Anyway, it's not like she can do better than me," said James crossly. "D'you remember last year, when she went out with that idiot Bertram Aubrey?"

"Yes, I remember." Sirius's voice was dull. "We made his life hell for a week until they broke up. What was it, two Sunday morning detentions for that?"

"Only one. We got the other one from something else we did, I think." James scowled. "And he was a prat; he deserved it. Walking around with that big head, thinking he's so much better than the rest of us…"

"As if you're not exactly that way," muttered Sirius under his breath, but James continued his tirade as if he'd forgotten Sirius was in the room.

"I mean, I suppose I can be a bit of a git—"

"Got that right," interjected Sirius.

"—But really, I'm good-looking, I'm funny, I'm brilliant, and I'm a Quidditch player! Why can't she see all that?"

"Dunno," said Sirius again, "but if I had to hazard a guess, it might have something to do with the fact that your big head tends to get in the way."

"I haven't got a big head."

Sirius rolled her eyes. "Do you even listen to yourself when you speak? I mean, really, do you? Because I get this impression that you say things without hearing them."

"Sod off, Black!"

Sirius shrugged, completely unaffected by James's minor temper tantrum. "All right, carry on whinging, then."

"I am not—"

"James, do try not to shout, would you? You're frightening the house-elf," said Mrs. Potter, coming into her son's bedroom. "Oh, hello, Sirius, I didn't even know you were here. Staying for brunch?"

Sirius sent her his most charming smile. "Don't I always?"

"Yes, I suppose you do. James, I've got your clean underwear, here, so please don't leave it on the bed. I want it put away before you two come down to eat, understand?"

James gave her a horrified look. "Mum, that's my underwear!"

"I know it is, you silly boy, didn't I just say so?" To James's intense shame, she deposited it all on the bed, very close to Sirius, affording the other boy a prime look at the top one, patterned with quacking ducks. Sirius fell, rolling on the floor laughing, as James's cheeks went bright red.

"Mum, please."

"For goodness' sake, James, it's not like Sirius hasn't seen them before. I had to do both of your laundry last year when he was living here, didn't I? Now do like I said, put them away." James mumbled something very rude under his breath. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you say that, but don't let me catch you saying it again. I don't suppose you boys are going out today?"

"No, why?"

"Well, tea's at our house today, and I'd rather you weren't here for it. Quite a few families will be stopping by and after the last time's fiasco…"

James vaguely remembered something about roller-skates and bananas. He grimaced. "Right. We'll pop off to the park and play some Quidditch, yeah?"

"That would be lovely." Mrs. Potter beamed at her son. "Come back by six, all right? Your father's managed to get off of work early today, so I'm sure you'd like to see him. And brunch will be ready in just ten minutes, and I want all of your clean clothes put away before you come down."

"Yes, Mum." James looked resigned. "You already told me."

"Did I? Good. You shouldn't take your house-elves for granted, James," she chided. "Binky isn't here to be your personal slave, dear. She's here to help out, but not to do everything. Don't you ever forget that, James."

"Yes, Mum," he said, the picture of a dutiful son. "Can you go now?"

Mrs. Potter wasn't at all affronted by his less-than-subtle attempt to get rid of her. "Yes, yes, I'm going." As she made her way to the door, she coughed several times. At once, James was seized with concern.

"Mum, you all right?"

"Yes, yes, dear, I'm fine, just a bit of allergies, nothing to worry about. Ten minutes, James." She smiled warmly at Sirius before exiting. Just as the door closed, James heard her cough again, followed by a sneeze.

Sirius waited until he was absolutely certain that Mrs. Potter had completely disappeared from earshot. "I think she's in love with me," he said off-handedly. "But she doesn't want to admit it around you. I could see it. She wants me."

"Whatever, Padfoot." James returned to studying the Billywig Stings album, wondering what to do with it. He wasn't much for popular music. "Oi, Sirius, d'you want this?" He waved it in the air.

Sirius yawned. "Not particularly, but there's this girl that keeps coming 'round to the apothecary, and I can't get rid of her. It's like she wants a bloody commitment from me, or something. Maybe if I shove it off at her, I can bribe her into leaving me alone. I mean, honestly. You snog a girl once, and she expects bloody marriage…" James roared with laughter at that.

Some things would never change.

Several hours later, both boys had grabbed their broomsticks and headed out, only to decide halfway to the park that they didn't want to play Quidditch after all. Sirius suggested a trip to Diagon Alley, just to check at things round the apothecary, and so that was where they found themselves at approximately half past four.

James bent low over a barrel, swinging his broomstick over his shoulder. Sirius cast him an annoyed look. "Oi, you, watch where you're sticking that thing."

"That sounds so wrong," his friend replied, and grimaced down into the barrel of newt tails. "I think some of these might be rotting, mate."

"What?" Sirius shoved James out of the way and sniffed gingerly. He stood up, chagrined. "Damn it, they are. I'll have to ask Arnie to replace them."

"Arnie?"

"Arnold," explained Sirius. "Our regular delivery boy, though he's not so much a delivery boy as a delivery man. Must've failed all his O.W.L.'s; I don't reckon he ever got past the fifth year at Hogwarts. As bloody bright as a rock, he is."

"What, so it's his fault?"

"He's supposed to make sure our supplier gives us good quality!" said Sirius indignantly. "And I introduced him to Janine, too. The arse."

"You introduced him to Janine?" asked James, mystified. "What for?"

"Well, he's been a bit depressed since his bird left him – no surprise, really, she probably got fed up with his insufferable stupidity – so I thought, you know, if he met a pretty girl who was interested in him—"

"Was Janine interested in him?"

"Not in the least, but she acted the part. It got him to stop whining about his darling Angela for a bit, but then when he realized Janine was never going to owl him ever again, he started whining about her instead. Wants me to set them up."

James looked amused. "How did she act the part? I can't picture her particularly interested in anyone, unless it's that git Travers."

"Too true, although you know, she had a mad crush on Malfoy back in first year?" James looked revolted. "I know, but even Droma had a thing for him when they were younger. 'Till she met Ted, anyway. Janine likes Ted an awful lot, too, says he has big doe-eyes and she loves his shaggy brown hair… is Ted good-looking, you think?"

"What, your cousin's husband? I wouldn't know; I don't swing that way. Is Janie aware that Ted's married?"

"Very much so. I heard Meadowes pointing it out to her; Janine mentioned something about him leaving Droma for her. She was kidding, though," added Sirius, smirking. "I told her Ted wouldn't leave Droma for Circe herself, and she seemed quite put-off."

"Maybe she wasn't joking, then."

"That's too bad for her," said Sirius, pursed his lips, and added, "and Travers too, I suppose. Let's go into the back room."

"Ooh," said James, batting his eyelashes in a terrible imitation of a girl. "I didn't know you felt that way about me, Black."

"Sod off, Potter," Sirius retorted companionably, and then grabbed his sleeve. The back room turned out to be a laboratory.

"What the hell d'you need a lab for? Don't you just sell the ingredients?"

"Well, the old man who owns this place has his Potions mastery too, and he spends his time in obscure experiments while poor lads like me run the front of his shop."

"Oh." James leaned over a cauldron and sniffed. He made a face and nearly retched. "What's this?"

"Polyjuice Potion, I think."

James jerked back, his eyes slightly widened. "Mate, you do know this stuff is closely regulated by the Ministry, right? More to the point, does your boss know it? You've got to obtain this special sort of license and everything—"

"Yeah, I know," replied Sirius unconcernedly. "I doubt the old man cares, though. Hey, don't tell your dad, yeah? I mean, he's a good guy and all, 'course, but he does work for the Ministry, and it might cause some trouble 'round here if he lets that slip—"

"Dad wouldn't let it slip unless he meant to," answered James. "But come on, Sirius, with things the way they are… I mean, they've got a right to regulate it. You heard about those awful murders where the man was supposedly in China but his wife was murdered and they said he did it? Dad reckons that someone had used Polyjuice to trick people, but there's no proof, so the poor sod's in Azkaban anyway."

"Yeah, I heard," said Sirius quietly. "Bad times, Jamie, but what can you do? Anyway, old man Jones is a good guy. Got a daughter who goes to Hogwarts, you know – she's a Hufflepuff, I think, and she's a second-year or something."

"He could be Imperiused," insisted James worriedly. "Maybe you ought to—"

"James." Sirius's voice was hard. "Don't you think that I, of all people, would notice that?" James knew what he meant; Sirius had told him, once, that the older, more traditional families that were like-minded as the Blacks often put Imperius or something similar on their children to get them to behave in good company. "Anyway, Jones acts the same as he always has since I met him when I was eleven. Don't worry about it."

"Okay," said James, still looking unconvinced. "If you say so."

"I do say so. Anyway, I just wanted to pop 'round to see how things are going. Everything seems to be in order; d'you still want to go the park by your house and play Quidditch?"

James pursed his lips. "Nah, forget it. Mum should be done with her little tea party soon anyway, I reckon, so we could just hang around Diagon Alley…" The two boys moved to the front of the store, and found a girl with long honey-blond hair bending over the same barrel of newt tails that James himself had inspected.

Glancing up, hazel eyes dancing, Dorcas Meadowes said rather casually, "Oi, Black, you work here, don't you? Because I think these newt tails are rotting."

"Off-duty today, Meadowes," replied Sirius just as casually. "Let someone else deal with it." Someone else called Arnie, thought James. "What's a lovely lady like you doing in my side of town?"

Never mind that Diagon Alley was really nobody's side of town, James reflected, but Dorcas said sweetly, "I appreciate that you're trying to chat me up, Black, but I make a point to never do the same boy twice." James pulled a revolted face. "Ooh, sorry, Potter. Didn't quite see you there. Summer been good so far?"

"Up until you said that, yes," said James, pretending to gag. "I never want to know that aspect of your life ever again, Meadowes."

"All right, all right." She grinned at him. "How fares the spurned lover, then?" James gave her a puzzled look. "Lily's present," she clarified. "She told me she sent the Billywig Stings album back, the silly girl. D'you still have it?"

"Yeah," said James, puzzled, drawing it out of his pocket. "Why?"

"Well, if she's going to be an idiot, I'm not. How much did you pay? I'll buy it off you."

"Forget that, Meadowes, take the damn thing," said Sirius, snatching it out of James's hands and tossing it to her. She gave him a surprised look, and then smiled.

"Why Black, that's very thoughtful of you. And I didn't think you possessed a thoughtful bone in your body."

"Shows what you know."

"Apparently. Learn something new every day, don't we?"

"Bloody Ravenclaws and their learning habits," said Sirius good-naturedly. "I ought to show you how to have a good time, Meadowes."

"You have, Black. After-O.W.L.'s party in the end of fifth year? We snogged and you were utterly unromantic about it afterwards."

"I've been told that," admitted Sirius without a trace of shame. "What can I say? Girls are fun in the moment, but really, what's the point? I'm bloody seventeen; it's not like I'm looking for a soul mate. Girls," he added with some disgust, "are always blathering on about commitment. You weren't, though," he added appraisingly. "I liked that about you. And Evans doesn't, obviously, but then she thinks I'm an arrogant pillock."

"Which you are," interjected James.

"As if you're one to talk. And Janine doesn't blather on about commitment, either. I mean, not that we're in a relationship or ever had been, but whenever she wants to talk to me, it's usually about Quidditch." He looked thoughtful. "Or what a bloody prick Jamie here is being to the lovely Miss Evans. Or sometimes about class, I suppose. And there was that one time we were talking about—"

"Don't recount every conversation you've ever had," said Dorcas, looking cheerful. "So where are you handsome fellows off to?"

"Oh, the usual – slaying dragons, sweeping damsels in distress off their feet," replied Sirius with a straight face. "You?"

"Oh, the same," she answered. "Only I suppose I wouldn't be sweeping damsels off their feet, would I? As you already know, I don't swing that way."

"Come have a drink with us," offered Sirius. "We can trade stories about our blissfully boring summers. I worked at this apothecary. See? I've already detailed my entire boring summer. How was yours?"

"Good, actually, you'd be surprised," said Dorcas. "I went to a bar two nights ago. It was fun. I got pissed and disappeared with a bartender name Bob." She frowned. "Or Rob, possibly. I think we might have had an argument over that, and I can't remember which it was. Lily would know, of course, so I'll just ask her."

"Evans was there?" James asked eagerly. Dorcas gave him a pitying look.

"You are a bit like a following puppy, aren't you, Potter? Yes, she was there. And she went off with Lucius Malfoy," she added thoughtfully, ignoring the stricken look on James's face. "Which I find a bit odd, particularly as she doesn't like Malfoy. Of course, he's very fanciable," she continued. "Ooh, those handsome gray eyes make me grow weak in the knees…"

"If you like ice princes, I suppose," said Sirius. "Anyway, he's practically engaged to my cousin Narcissa. She only graduated a year ago, though, so they've only had a year of proper courtship. I expect we'll be hearing wedding bells anytime now. Although I suppose I might tell Narcissa that he's going off with other girls behind his back."

"No, I think he only wanted to talk."

"Oh, is that what they call it these days?" Dorcas made a face.

"Anyway, I think she came in rather quickly, told me to use a condom, and then took off. She seemed markedly clear-headed, considering the amount of alcohol she'd consumed." Dorcas looked thoughtful. "Ooh, I do hope she got home all right. I never called to check."

"She's fine, I'm sure. I'd pity any idiot who tried to mug Evans; she'd probably snap him in half. Terrifying, she is." Dorcas rolled her eyes; Sirius continued undeterred. "By the way, what's a condom?"

"Bit like a contraceptive charm. Except it's not always guaranteed to work."

"Neither are the charms," said James. He was beginning to feel very left out of this conversation. "But I guess that's only if you cast them incorrectly."

"Right. So what about you, Potter, what've you been up to?"

"Nothing," said James despairingly. "I spent bloody forever trying to get that stupid album for Evans, and then she goes and sends it back."

"At least it's not going to waste!" said Dorcas bracingly, a cheerful smile on her face. "After all, I seem to be benefiting, don't I?"

"Oh, piss off," said James. "It was meant for Evans. Face it, Meadowes, you're just old hat compared to her."

"I suppose, from your opinion, everyone is," shot back Dorcas. "By the way, had a date since you've started pursuing Evans? No? Didn't think so," she said sweetly. James glowered at her; Sirius snorted. "So what was this about a drink?"

"You alcoholic," said Sirius. "I was joking; it's the middle of the day."

She looked insulted. "First off, I'm not an alcoholic, I just like to drink. And it's hardly the middle of the day, Black, it's nearly five o'clock." She sighed. "But I do have to get home, regretfully. Daddy imagines I'm such a good girl," she said, "and I was able to get out two nights ago by pretending I was sleeping over at Janine's house; I just had to tell him that she doesn't have a phone because she's wizarding and he had no way to check up on me. He's a Muggle," she explained for their benefit. "And though Mum's a witch, she's at a conference in Geneva, so there wasn't much she could do at the time. But I'd need a proper excuse this time."

"Tell him you're sleeping at my flat," said Sirius with a grin. Dorcas looked surprised.

"Oh, you have a flat, do you? You must entertain people all the time. We should have a party." She smiled. "You, me, and a bottle of Firewhisky."

"That's a party?" said James skeptically.

"Three's a crowd, Potter. So sorry – but you're not invited."

Sirius smirked. "I thought you never did the same bloke twice."

Dorcas shrugged. "I might make an exception for you."

Sirius pretended to mull that over. "Interesting though that prospect sounds, I'm afraid I'm going to have to respectfully decline. Perhaps a rain check?"

Dorcas smiled, cat-like. "Perhaps," she allowed.

"Well, come on, then, make up another excuse." Sirius smiled. "I've got work tomorrow, but I reckon my boss won't notice if I come in hung-over; he never does. You, me, a bottle of Firewhisky. Not at the flat, obviously, but other than that, it sounds good?"

"You'd abandon Potter?"

"Are you joking? Since Evans sent back the album, he's been wallowing in his misery." He cast James an amused look. "Maybe you ought to come. Do you good. Get out and get smashed with the two of us." He threw an arm around Dorcas's shoulder. "It'll be fun," he wheedled.

James gave him a weary look. "I'll never manage to get away from my parents."

Sirius laughed. "That, my friend, is why you have me."

X-X-X-X-X

A/N: So, here is the second chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed this one! I'm not going to write James's POV as often as I do Lily's, I think, but I figure it was important to get into his head at least once early on in the story. I don't really like the title of this chapter, but I could think of nothing else. On a bright note, though, I have quite a few of the following chapters already written so it may not take as long for the update, schoolwork willing. We'll see. So… A few important things happened or came up in this chapter, although it may not seem like it, but I'm not going to tell you what they are. Brownie points to you, however, if you ever figure out what said important things are. Aside from getting into James's head, there should be two more. One is fairly obvious. I like to hope that the other one isn't.

I got a couple of questions in reviews, and I can't remember all of them, but here's what I do remember:

- _Janine doesn't seem very different! _OR _Janine is still a slut! _Give it time. She's not the same; I mean that. Her only boyfriend is Quincy Travers. She does not cheat on him. They do, however, break up periodically, and in those instances, she goes on dates with them. To clear it up, though, Janine's not the same girl in that she won't go off and snog madly/shag every guy she comes across. And she's not as girly, a bit less bratty, but still spoiled. You'll see those traits, I hope. Eventually.

- _Are Sirius and Janine ever going to get together? _You'll just have to wait and see, won't you:)

- _Janine and Dorcas are your typical boy-crazy girls. How about someone more down to Earth? _You didn't think those were Lily's only friends, surely, did you? Her other friends are somewhat more down-to-Earth. Although I do have to say, _my _friends and I are certainly boy-crazy, but I'm as down-to-Earth (or I like to think I am) as most girls, sometimes more so. JKR mentioned, when asked if anybody else every liked Lily like James did or something like that, anyway, that she was a popular girl, and I intend to make her so. And if you ask me, this Lily is much more likeable than AMG's Lily.

- _I liked the characters from AMG! _So did I. I still do. I just happen to like these characters as much, if not more so.

- _Is the title taken from Green Day's song? _Yes. Sort of, anyway. Don't you love that song? I do.

- _When is this fic set? _Right now, it's before their seventh year. I'll have a time frame at the beginning of every chapter (and sometimes in between, if it switches) so remember, in my universe, MWPP and Lily graduated in 1977. Use that as your guide – there will be a lot of flashes to the past, like at the beginning of this chapter.

- _How old is Malfoy? _Five years older than our heroes. For reference, so is Bellatrix; Andromeda is four years older, and Narcissa is two. The Black family will come up quite a lot in this story, as well as certain other minor characters that have been mentioned in passing during canon, and to whom I've decided to add some depth. But the ages of the Black sisters are somewhat important, I think. So just FYI.

- _Is there a reason Rob the bartender looks like James? _No. He's a random character. He won't appear as anything beyond the bartender of the Serpent's Tongue. There is no depth to him. At all.


	3. Trials and Tribulations of War

Disclaimer: Characters and settings are property of J.K. Rowling. What you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: This is not, I repeat, _not, _the sequel to 'A Marauder's Girl.' Yes, this is set in the Marauder time frame, but it's an entirely different story. The character names might seem familiar, but I've changed quite a few personalities from that story, and this should not be taken as related in any way to that universe. You've been warned.

X-X-X-X-X

Time of Our Lives 

_Chapter 3 – Trials and Tribulations of War_

August 1976

In the days leading up to the imminent beginning of her seventh year at Hogwarts, Lily spent a good deal of time pondering her rather odd exchange with one Lucius Malfoy. Janine had gone home ages back to spend time with her father, as her mother went away nearly every summer. Good friends though they were, Janine did not confide everything in her, but Lily could tell from her slightly downtrodden expression as she'd left the Evanses' house that there was something in particular she didn't like about being home during the summer. Lily wisely hadn't pressed, but she resolved to find out during the course of the year.

Dorcas, in the meantime, had called out of the blue about two nights after their drinking session in the Serpent's Tongue. Lily had a sneaking suspicion that the other girl was slightly tipsy when she called, as she kept giggling every other sentence. Nevertheless, Lily assured her that she was home safe (never mind that it had been two days since then) and to enjoy herself, which it seemed like Dorcas was doing anyway.

I do wonder what Malfoy wanted to say to me, she mused, staring out the window thoughtfully. I never did find out, did I? Something to do with the war, he said. She paused. He couldn't have wanted me to join his side; that would be ridiculous. I'm a Muggleborn. Like his high-and-mighty Lord would want a lowly Mudblood like me in his ranks. Lily straightened up. Well, that's his loss, isn't it? Not that I'd ever join anyway.

Lily sighed and turned her attention to a pile of textbooks that seemed to be glaring at her. It was already two weeks in August, and Lily hadn't even begun her summer work. Some Head Girl I'll be, she thought rather morosely. She'd gotten the letter only three days before, informing her of the decision. She was thrilled, although she'd expected it, but that enthusiasm quickly evaporated as she realized just how much work she was going to have in the coming year.

Well, you wanted it, she thought, and pulled one of her newer textbooks towards her. She'd only been to Diagon Alley yesterday to buy all her new books, and there were quite a lot this year. Seventh-years were often required to attend seminars on topics not covered in their classes. From what Lily's Head of House, Minerva McGonagall, had told her, these seminars had only become a recent addition to their course-load, since the official beginning of the war.

While Lily had no problem whatsoever with learning more to prepare herself for their war-stricken world, she did object to the amount of work they'd received because of it. McGonagall had told her, quite sternly, that the homework was required, as they would attend more than one seminar on the particular topics, and no, the homework was not optional, and certain seminars were mandatory. Take, for example, the one on Magical Ethics.

Lily fully understood the need for it in times such as these, particularly since Bartemius Crouch, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, had recently given Aurors license to use the Unforgivables as they saw fit. People were uneasy with the thought of spells and potions that, although they required permits to use, could do so much harm if used incorrectly.

Although Lily understood the need for precaution, she personally had to agree with Bartemius Crouch in one respect: the ends did justify the means, at least in times of war. She had always considered herself a very ethical person, but certain times called for drastic measures. And with so many people being murdered left and right, she could hardly blame such drastic measures.

Lily glanced at the essay topics she had to choose from: (1) Describe, in detail, why permits are of particular importance in regards to more complex and powerful charms, potions, and Spellwork, or (2) Choose a particular potion or spell from the list given, and discuss its uses and whether or not such uses are ethical, with particular emphasis on given situations, and if and how the usage of such potion or spell can and should be controlled, or (3) Take a stance on the subject of the use of Unforgivables in recent times, and state your opinion. Be certain to back up your claim with evidence, with particular emphasis on given situations.

Lily bit her lip. The first one was sufficiently vague, and the third was a hot debate at the moment, one that most parents discussed at dinner parties whenever the conversation lagged and a new topic had to be brought up. Most were likely to do one of those two, as they were undeniably easier and required less research. The second one, however, was specific and would have to be researched in detail.

She sighed. She could almost hear the seminar leader, whoever he or she was, asking students to discuss the three topics and what they had written about. She decided, at once, that she would hear far more about those two topics than she would ever want to, and decided on impulse to pick a particularly obscure potion for her essay.

Pulling her new Ethics textbook towards her, she began to flip through, humming. She glanced at the list, and saw a number of familiar potions and spells: Polyjuice Potion, Amortentia, Cheering Charms – Lily raised her eyebrows at that, surely those weren't dangerous? ­– Veritaserum… The list went on. Lily could understand the reasons for a good few of them, although she snorted when she saw the word Alcohol scribbled on – what the devil did that have to do with Magical Ethics? It wasn't even a potion or a charm…

Lily sighed. Many of them were commonplace, and none particularly struck her interest. Perhaps Polyjuice, or Veritaserum… she stopped, suddenly, astonished, as she looked down the list and caught two words: Felix Felicis.

Lily sat back thoughtfully. Well, that was certainly interesting. She'd never thought of that one before. It would be a bit difficult to take a stance on that, wouldn't it? After all, it only made people lucky, so what sort of harm could come from that? The way things were, everyone could do with a bit more luck.

Frowning, she pulled her Potions textbook towards her and began flipping through it, searching the index and then finding the correct page. She read: Felix Felicis, otherwise known as the 'Good-Luck Potion.' This potion is well known to make its drinker lucky and able to succeed in nearly every endeavor they undertake. Dosage depends on the weight of the drinker in question and the potency of the potion. Side effects, mostly caused by excess or over-dosage, include giddiness, recklessness, and overconfidence.

She scowled. Well, that was sufficiently vague to tell her absolutely nothing. She'd heard of the potion before, naturally, and knew everything she'd just read. Well, obviously I'm going to need more research, she said thoughtfully. I'll have to head to the library, I suppose…

A knock came on the door; Lily shut her books and glanced up just as Petunia entered, her thin face bland of any sort of expression. "Dinner's almost ready," she said quietly.

"I'll be down in a minute." Petunia had been much more bearable since Janine had left, for which Lily was profoundly grateful. "Thanks, Petunia."

"Right," her sister replied stiffly. "See you, then." Lily heard her step down the stairs, and mused thoughtfully on her older sister. Lily had never fully understood Petunia's unflinching hatred for anything magical. It might have been because Petunia was not magical herself, but Lily would never dare tell her sister so. Things were bad enough between them as it was.

When Lily sat down at the table at lost, her parents looked at her expectantly. Clearing her throat, Lily explained, "I was flipping through my texts." Carefully avoiding Petunia's eye, she continued, "We've got to attend seminars on all sorts of subjects and things this year, and I had an essay to write for Magical Ethics…" As she detailed the essay, the topic she'd chosen, and the stance she planned to take, she noticed from the corner of her eye that Petunia was growing more and more sullen, merely pushing her food around her plate rather than eating it.

Her parents, on the other hand, seemed absolutely fascinated by what their younger daughter was telling them; Mr. Evans kept interrupting to ask questions as Mrs. Evans repeatedly shushed him. Lily glowed slightly under her parents' praise as she finished, but she noticed that Petunia was scowling fiercely down at her plate as though it had insulted her. She sighed, and asked boldly, "So, Petunia, how're things going with Vernon?"

If she'd hoped to include Petunia in the conversation with this question, she was about to be let down. "As if you care," she snapped, grabbing her half-eaten plate and storming into the kitchen. Lily glanced down at her plate and heard her sister rattling around, making lots of noise, followed by the tell-tale bumps as Petunia stormed up the stairs.

"Don't worry, dear," soothed Mrs. Evans. "She's just a bit jealous of all the wonderful things you're learning, that's all."

Yes, thought Lily wearily. I think that's precisely the problem.

The following day, Lily sat in the magical library at Diagon Alley, all thoughts of Petunia and her parents pushed from her mind. She was surrounded by ancient tomes, including Moste Potente Potions, for which she'd had to argue with the librarian for a good half hour, explaining that it was for a school assignment, even going so far as to wave the assignment in his face, which fortunately bore the school insignia, and convinced him to lend it to her with a stern warning.

"Hi, Lily!"

Startled, Lily glanced up and smiled. Bonnie Robertson was the only Hufflepuff out of their close group of friends, which included Lily herself, Janine, Dorcas, and another Ravenclaw girl named Samantha Griffith. Bonnie was heavily laden-down with books, and Lily quickly jumped up before the shorter girl toppled over.

"Thanks," said Bonnie with relief. "Working on your summer work, then?"

"Magical Ethics," said Lily, waving her parchment of notes. Bonnie nodded understandingly.

"Ooh, yeah, I just finished that one last night – er, this morning. Mum's really been on my case, wants me to get all my work done as soon as possible. Doesn't matter that she's a Muggle and doesn't understand a word of what I'm writing; she still insists on reading it all through for errors." She made a face. "She told me I need to pull up my Transfiguration grade, and I don't think she even knows what Transfiguration is."

Lily had to laugh at that. "I just tell my parents I'm doing well and they've got nothing to worry about," explained Lily, which wasn't precisely true. She normally gave her parents a full breakdown of what she was doing at school, but since she got excellent grades anyway, it hardly mattered. It felt rather churlish to say this to Bonnie, however, and so Lily kept it to herself.

"Yes, well," said Bonnie, sitting across from her. "What's your topic? I was going to do the one on the Unforgivables, but then I thought everyone would do that, so I just picked the first one. I got a letter from Sam, too," added Bonnie, "and she says she's doing the third one, just because her dad's a Ministry official and all, so he knows a lot about it. Any idea what Dorcas and Janie are up to?"

Lily pursed her lips. "No. I haven't heard from them in a bit. We went out a couple of weeks ago," she added, glancing at Bonnie, "and we invited you along, but you didn't pick up your telephone. And Sam's not here, so—"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must've forgotten to tell you. I was visiting my Auntie in Edinburgh for a week, so that might have been why." Lily nodded understandingly. "Where did you girls go?"

"The Serpent's Tongue," said Lily, and the name brought back memories of that night. Bonnie had to smirk, just slightly, and the look seemed almost foreign on her face.

"Oh, I see. Janine's choice, I bet, wanting to hook up with Travers. Can't imagine why; did you know he shoved me out of the hall last year after exams and called me a filthy, worthless Mudblood?" Bonnie's cheeks were turning red with anger. "Who does he think he is?"

"Just ignore him," said Lily soothingly. "He's a git; it's not worth wasting your time trying to justify his actions. And don't bother telling Janine; she'll just say he's acting up, have a chat with him about it, and he'll be pathetically nice to you in front of her, but even worse when she's not around."

"Ah. Been on the boat with this one, have you?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Numerous times. I've finally given up. He can call me what he likes. Doesn't change the fact that I beat him out every year in Arithmancy," she said with a satisfied smile. Bonnie laughed.

"You beat most of us out in our subjects, Lily," said Bonnie smilingly. "So, then: are you Head Girl?" Lily smiled, slightly. "Hah! I knew it!"

"Please be quiet," said a cool voice. "You're in a library, you know." Lily scowled at the old librarian, and he skulked off. Bonnie quieted a bit, but she was no less enthusiastic.

"Ooh, I knew you would be; you were a shoe-in, though Sam will be jealous, I know she's always wanted the position…" Lily winced, slightly. Especially in the last year, her friendship with Sam had been a bit strained, as the other girl had been engaged in a fierce competition for the badge. Nevertheless, Lily had still expected it, and was not surprised when she'd received it. Sam, on the other hand, was likely to be slightly bitter.

"I suppose I have some damage control to do, then, don't I?" she sighed. Bonnie nodded sympathetically. "Well, I'm sure she'll get over it soon."

"Eventually," agreed Bonnie. She glanced at Lily's stack of books. "My, you're doing quite a bit of research, aren't you? What's your topic?"

"Felix Felicis." Bonnie gave her a puzzled look, and Lily remembered that Bonnie wasn't in her N.E.W.T. Potions class. "Potion that makes you lucky."

"Oh! I think I read a reference to that, once, in something…" She screwed up her eyes, trying to think, and then shrugged. "Well, never mind. I suppose you have quite a bit of research to do, then?"

"Not as much as I thought. I'm really just making sure everything I've gotten is correct so far. After all, most of it is about the ethical part, and that's mostly things I have to come up with on my own."

"Hmm," said Bonnie, and Lily could tell that the other girl was starting to get slightly bored by all the talk of potions. "Well, I've just got to check out these books and then get on back home, Mum wants to make sure I'm actually working and not shopping—" Bonnie rolled her eyes. "But before I go, d'you know who the Head Boy is this year?"

"No idea," said Lily, studying her. "Do you?"

"No, sorry," said Bonnie. "You and Sam are the only ones I've seen or heard from all summer, and Sam's got no idea anyway. Ask Janie or Dorcas, why don't you – one foot in the wizarding world, eh?"

"Both feet, in Janine's case," answered Lily, her attention already returning to her work. "It was nice seeing you, Bon."

"Oh, you too. Have a good rest of the summer!" she added brightly. "We'll see one another on the train I expect."

"Naturally. Same compartment as usual?"

"As usual," agreed Bonnie, and she gave a last wave before heading to the desk at the front of the library. Lily sighed, and sank into the dusty tomes around her once more.

The library remained quiet for a time; it was a nice Thursday afternoon, and most people were doing their shopping or were at work, or they would have been, were it not for the war. Lily knew from experience that the emptiness of Diagon Alley today had nothing to do with it being a Thursday – nobody wanted to be present in case an attack came at Diagon Alley. It was only at night that people felt safe to venture in Diagon Alley to enjoy themselves, but that was because all suspected Death Eaters were out enjoying themselves as well, sometimes in more ways than one. Lily shook herself to rid herself of those thoughts. It didn't matter, either way. She was in the library. Certainly no Hogwarts student would be caught dead in a library during the summer hols; not, of course, unless they were Lily.

"Psst!"

Lily's head snapped up, partially out of annoyance. The old librarian had disappeared, for which she was glad, but there seemed to be a hissing noise coming from a bookcase off to her right. Frowning, she stared at it – and to her shock, saw a pair of gray eyes staring back at her. Forcing herself to believe she'd imagined it, she bent low over her book.

"Hey! Psst! Evans!"

"What?" she snapped in an irritated whisper. She had a good idea of whom those gray eyes belonged to, but the person she was thinking of wouldn't be caught dead in a library any day, let alone one during the holidays.

"Come here!"

"If you want to talk to me," said Lily crossly, "you come here. I'm busy."

"You're right in the view of the win—" The voice cut off abruptly, and seconds later, a shadow fell across her. She glowered up at the librarian. What the devil had she done that he was insisting on checking on her every few minutes?

"Are you almost finished?" he asked in a nasal voice.

Lily gave an impatient sigh. "No, I'm not done, and when I am, I'll let you know, thanks." She added waspishly, "So there's no need to keep hanging over me." She thought she might have heard sniggers from behind the bookcase, but she forcibly ignored them.

The librarian sneered at her and disappeared. Lily waited until he disappeared from sight behind some bookshelves on the second level, and then snuck behind the bookcase to see a grinning Sirius Black. She sighed impatiently again. "What d'you want, Black?"

He grinned at her. "To say hi, Evans. So, hi, Evans."

"Yes, hi," she replied. "Can I go back to my book now?"

"What're you doing in this place? It's a beautiful day out, and—"

"I am working. What are you doing?"

"Well, I saw you when I went on my lunch break," he explained, "and decided to see how our favorite redhead is doing. By the way, why did you send back that album? Didn't you want it?"

Lily paused. "I already had it," she finally lied.

"Ah. Well." Sirius looked as if he didn't quite believe her, and Lily was more than aware that she hadn't done a very convincing job of lying, particularly as said album was nearly impossible to find. "You could have sent a letter saying so," he finally said at last.

"Wasn't worth the effort," she replied with brutal honesty. "So, you've said hello; can I go now?"

"Evans – it's a beautiful day. Take a break from working, or somebody might mistake you for a Ravenclaw. Go outside. Eat some ice cream. Point at people obnoxiously and laugh. Have some fun."

Lily crossed her arms over her chest. "I have work to do," she said. "I don't suppose you've finished all your essays, Black, but then I've never known you to do an honest day's work in your life, so that shouldn't surprise me."

"I've only got two left." Lily stared at him in astonishment. "Most people don't want to come into the apothecary. It smells bad enough on its own, let alone on a hot day. I have lots of spare time, so I spend all my free time doing my essays or reading." He shrugged. "Not much else to do, anyway. Which one are you on?"

"Magical Ethics," she said at last, still quite unable to believe that Sirius Black had gotten further on his summer work than she had. "I'm doing Felix Felicis; I don't suppose you've started yours yet?"

"Ooh, finished that one first. That's the easy one, it is; you can just get the basics about the potion and then bullshit your way through all the ethical nonsense." Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, God, don't tell me you're actually researching it? Evans, what's wrong with you? You're making more work for yourself!"

Lily could think of no way to reply to this, so she settled on saying, "You're a lazy sod."

"Most likely," he agreed with a grin. "I did mine on the Draught of Living Death and why the Ministry requires the maker to own a permit beforehand. I did loads of nonsense about how, if the ingredients are bought all at the same time or even over the course of a short period of time, the owner of the apothecary has to let the Ministry know so they can investigate." His grin widened. "Advantages of working in an apothecary, Evans."

"Sounds terribly boring to me," she retorted, although she couldn't help but be impressed. It was obvious that most of what he'd needed had been at hand, and when stating whether or not the permits were a reasonable restriction, he'd clearly made up what he wanted.

"Yep. Four rolls of parchment, that one. It's the easiest one, Evans, I suggest you get started on that bloody awful Transfiguration work on duplication. Most of the books in this place are already checked out," he informed her, and added innocently, "but the Potters have a fairly extensive library, so I'm sure James would be willing to lend you a few books if you were to—"

"Sod off, Black!" Lily cried, only remembering halfway through to lower her voice. Sirius sniggered at her again. "All right, you, I understand that you're Potter's PR or whatever, but I am not interested. I never have been. I didn't want to date Potter last year, the year before that, or the year before that. And, as is evidenced by past trends, I still do not want to date him."

"You don't know him."

"I don't want to know him; that's the point I've been trying to make for years!" Lily started to huffily stalk away; Sirius grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"All right, all right, just forget it. It was just a joke, Evans, don't be so uptight. Now come on, check out your books and we'll go have ice cream together. I'll tell you how Meadowes and I took Jamie on a drinking spree; you can tell me how you went off with Malfoy. I'll even carry your books for you," he wheedled.

"How did you know about all that?" she asked suspiciously. "Me and Malfoy, I mean?"

"Meadowes told me so, obviously." He looked surprised. "I imagine it wasn't a secret, and she did say you were just talking. Weren't you?" he added, just as suspicious as she'd been.

"Very much so. As if I'd consent to touch Malfoy; I told him to bugger off not ten minutes after we started talking. All right," she finally agreed, "ice cream. But any comments about how wonderful Potter is, and I—"

"My lips are zipped," he told her, motioning so. "Come along now, Evans. I'll get your books for you."

Lily felt a bit less irritable once they'd reached the ice cream parlor. Mr. Fortescue knew her quite well by then, and he was more than happy to sneak the pair of them free sundaes. Sirius cast her an odd look. "You know old man Fortescue?"

Lily glanced up at him. "Oh, yes. See, when I hit about fifteen, staying at a Muggle home did get dreadfully boring, so I started coming here quite a lot during the summers. Once or twice, before sixth year, Mum even let me spend the night in the Leaky Cauldron. I suppose Mr. Fortescue just got used to seeing me here, and he started giving me free ice cream on his slower days." She didn't add that Mr. Fortescue had confided in her, once, that most of his days were slow, what with the war. Nobody wanted to stop for a bite of ice cream; they just bought what they needed and rushed back to the relative safety of their homes, barely pausing to chat or even breathe. Lily could believe it; in the weeks after an attack (which were getting more and more frequent), Diagon Alley was always noticeably emptier than usual. Even now, there was nobody about; Diagon Alley was unusually (or usually) empty, with only the occasional witch hurrying by with her parcels, not making eye contact. Lily tried to summon up a smile and turn her thoughts to lighter topics. "He's a very nice man."

"Sure," said Sirius agreeably. "You know who else is a nice man?"

"Don't you dare—"

"I was going to say Jonathan Thatcher," said Sirius with a smirk, "but I've no idea whom you were thinking about." Lily glowered at him. Why was it that every time she saw Sirius Black, she wanted to do nothing better than strangle him?

Then she sighed. "Go on, then. Who's this Thatcher?"

"Came into the apothecary a few days back. I've a sneaking suspicion that he might be our new Defense professor."

Lily perked up. "Really?" she asked with a great deal of interest. "What makes you say so?"

"Nothing, just was saying to Mr. Jones – my boss – that he'd be spending a lot of time at Hogwarts." Sirius's eyes twinkled. "Well, the only available position is for Defense, isn't it?"

"I suppose," she answered, slightly doubtful now. "Although, you know, he might just be doing a seminar."

Sirius deflated slightly. "Hadn't thought of that. Anyway, he seems a decent bloke. Used to work in the DMLE," he continued, "or at least that's the gist of what he was saying. I think he may have been a Hit Wizard. Said he's doing a favor for an old friend."

"Interesting." Lily sat back thoughtfully, ignoring her melting ice cream. "Did he seem – I don't know, knowledgeable?"

"No idea, really. Just heard him chatting a bit, and when he spotted me, he asked if I went to Hogwarts and what I thought of my courses. Then he asked where I wanted to go in life."

"What did you tell him?"

Sirius grinned. "I told him I planned on becoming a male hooker in the slums of Knockturn Alley." Lily's jaw dropped. "Joking, Evans. No, I said I was thinking about going into the Ministry. Which I am. Preferably, you know, to get rid of the idiots who run us now and then slowly start my world domination plan, though I didn't tell him that." He gave Lily a pitying look. "Oh dear, now I've told you my secret. I suppose I shall have to kill you, then."

Lily gave him a dry look. Without deigning to reply, she spooned ice cream into her mouth. "You've been working all summer?" she asked him, smoothly changing the subject.

He gave her an amused glance. "In the apothecary," he agreed. "Haven't seen a lot of Potter because of it, too."

"And his name comes up. Inevitably." Lily's voice was coolly sarcastic. "I give up. It's absolutely worthless to try and carry on a normal conversation with any of you idiots, because his name always comes up and then you go on about how wonderful he is and it doesn't seem to strike home that I don't care—"

"Evans, take a deep breath." Sirius was giving her that infuriating smirk again. "All I said was that I haven't seen him much because I've been working. In case you haven't noticed, I've yet to sing his praises."

"Today," she said scathingly.

"Yes, today. I may sing them tomorrow, but it hardly makes a difference, as it's very unlikely that I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled and dug into her ice cream, having already finished his. She gave it up as a lost cause and pushed the bowl towards him, to his obvious delight. "Can't we just enjoy a pleasant conversation?"

"I've never had a pleasant conversation with you in my entire life, Black."

"Yes, well, when have you ever bothered to have a conversation with me at all?"

"Third year," replied Lily with an exasperated look. "You talked about James. For an hour." She smiled briefly. "Almost thought you were lovers."

Sirius snapped his fingers; she stared at him. "Were we that obvious?"

"That is an aspect of you that I never wanted to know about," she said dryly, and stood up. "Fun though this has been, Black, I must be getting on. Because as much as I enjoy spending time with you like this—" Her rolled eyes were an indication that she'd never enjoyed anything less, "—I do have quite a bit of summer work left to do. So if you'll excuse me…"

She started away, but his voice called her back. "Evans." She turned; his expression was a bit hard.

"If you're about to sing Potter's praises now that I'm leaving—"

"Merlin, is that all you think about?" His voice was slightly disgusted; he immediately controlled it. It startled Lily to realize that he was actually annoyed with her. "I wasn't just seeking out the displeasure of your company. I came to warn you."

"Did you." Her voice was indifferent. "What about?"

His black hair had fallen attractively into his face, but since the third year (or the fourth, rather, Lily admitted without shame, for there was nothing wrong with fancying Black even after realizing he was a pillock, because he was very handsome), that sort of thing had stopped causing her heart to flutter.

"Malfoy's a royal bastard," he said at last, "and he didn't seek you out for the displeasure of your company either, all right? He obviously wanted something." His eyes hardened. "Don't give it to him."

"If you're suggesting that I'd have sex with Malfoy, you're as far off as you could be," she informed him. He rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't referring to sex, Evans, although if you want to shag Malfoy, you're more than welcome to. I don't care, although James might. What I mean is, he really wanted something. I know Malfoy. He's probably going to marry my cousin. I don't particularly like him, but I've been forced to associate with him, and I do know one thing about him: if he didn't want something from you, he'd hardly lower himself to speak with you. To him, you matter less than a Bundimun. So unless you had something he needed…"

"I doubt I have anything he couldn't get elsewhere," Lily interrupted. "So don't concern yourself over my welfare, Black."

"I was hardly worried for your welfare, Evans," he replied just as coolly. "I was referring to the welfare of the Wizarding World as a whole, in particular the students at Hogwarts. Or didn't you notice that Malfoy is a Death Eater?"

Lily paused. "You've no proof of that," she said at last, very carefully.

"Do you believe, for even a moment, that he isn't?"

Lily looked around carefully, to ascertain that nobody was looking, and then sat down again. "All right, I don't," she finally said in a lowered voice, "because you're right, he probably is a Death Eater. I still don't see what—"

"Evans, if you want me to compliment you, I will. You're smart. Very smart. One of the smartest witches to come through Hogwarts; everyone says it." He gave her an exasperated look. "That's enough to entice Malfoy and the like he serves. They'd want you on their side. Losing you would be…"

"…Ridiculous," she finished. "Black, I'm Muggleborn. I'm the very thing they hate."

"If they needed you badly enough," he replied, "I don't think it would matter." He gave her a twisted smile. "Although they would probably kill you after you'd served your purpose."

She frowned at him. "Everyone tells me that you are fully capable of spouting off poetry and romantic witticisms at the drop of a hat, but you never seem to do so around me. I can only conclude that these rumors are just that – rumors and lies – or that you're in love with me and are thus incapable of being anything but a malicious prat around me."

"I'm not malicious," he said, pretending to be injured. The air relaxed; the tension vanished and Lily's shoulders relaxed. "Nor am I in love with you, Evans, I reserve that right for my best mate." She rolled her eyes at that, unable to summon up the energy to glower. "So get on with you, then. I've given you my warning."

"Finally," she said with some relief, and hoisted her books further in her arms and began to walk away. To her exasperation (but not to her surprise), he called her back once more.

"Evans!"

"What, Black?" She turned, impatient to leave and deposit the heavy books somewhere – preferably on her bed or her floor.

His face was inscrutable. "Be careful. Okay?" And with that, he left his ice cream (well, hers) half-eaten and walked back into the apothecary.

Lily waited until he was out of sight, before sighing. "As if I'd ever be anything but," she murmured, and clutching her books tighter, she apparated home.

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A/N: I apologize for the length of time it took to update. I've been so busy that I scarcely have time to breathe (Free time? What is this free time you speak of? Certainly nothing that exists in _my _life), and if you can believe it, this chapter was already WRITTEN and I only just got around to editing it. I also stopped editing halfway through because I got bored so if you see mistakes, feel free to point them out and I'll fix them. Speaking of mistakes, I spotted one in the author's note at the end of the last chapter: I said there that Andromeda was five years older than our friends, which is impossible, as it makes her the same age as both Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Black, and I know that in my version, Andromeda and Bellatrix are most definitely NOT twins. So, Andromeda is four years older. My bad. On the note of Andromeda, if you do the math, you may discover something odd. (You probably wouldn't do the math, unless you're an anal-retentive freak like I am. I'm a sucker for details.) In any case, the oddity goes something like this: Nymphadora Tonks is born in 1973. Andromeda Tonks, nee Black, graduated in 1973.

You do the math on that one.

If I ever get around to writing my Andromeda/Ted fic (which I hopefully will; it's already in the works), her entire scandalous history will be revealed. Look out for that one, would you? On the note of other fics, Shades of Grey is coming along. I swear. I just happened to have this one written, so it took me all of two minutes to get it ready to post once I was satisfied. SoG 2, on the other hand, is not even written yet. It's in the makings, though. Keep a sharp eye out for it!

Drop me a review and I will be motivated to write sooner. On a bright note, I have a nice long weekend coming up, and though I have plenty to do over that weekend, I will try and make the time to write if I can. Thanks for being patient! Peaches


	4. Back to Hogwarts

Disclaimer: Characters and settings are property of J.K. Rowling. What you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: This is not, I repeat, _not, _the sequel to 'A Marauder's Girl.' Yes, this is set in the Marauder time frame, but it's an entirely different story. The character names might seem familiar, but I've changed quite a few personalities from that story, and this should not be taken as related in any way to that universe. You've been warned.

X-X-X-X-X

**Time of Our Lives Chapter 4 – Back to Hogwarts**

_September 1976_

Lily waited patiently just a few feet from the barrier between platforms nine and ten for her parents to gather themselves together and let her go. Not that she didn't love them, because of course she did, but a quick glance at her watch reminded her that she only had ten minutes to board the train, and it certainly wouldn't do for the new Head Girl to be late.

"Have a good term," said Mrs. Evans, looking a bit teary. Lily noticed Petunia standing off to the side, looking sulky. "Write as often as you can, will you?"

"Yes, Mum," promised Lily, just as she nearly always did. "I've really got to go," she continued, before her mother could weep all over her shoulder again. Although she was used to this by now; the same scene occurred every time she was about to leave for Hogwarts. "I'm Head Girl, I can't be late…" Mrs. Evans nodded, sniffing loudly, and gave her younger daughter one last hug.

"Be good," said Mr. Evans sternly as his wife stepped back. Lily hid a smile, prepared for what came next: "And, er… no boys. All right?"

"Yes, Dad," lied Lily. She'd wisely kept the tales of her past experiences with boys – notably Remus Lupin, Bertram Aubrey, that one kiss with Sirius Black, and a few others – to herself. "And I'll behave, not to worry." Side-stepping him delicately, she faced Petunia. "Bye," she offered.

"See you," said Petunia unpleasantly, rather as though she were hoping she wouldn't. "Have a good term, I suppose."

"Thanks," said Lily with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. With that parting word, she gave Petunia a quick hug – to the other's surprise, as well as discomfort – and then she dragged her trunk through the barrier.

All thoughts of Petunia's surly goodbye and her parents' weepy one was swept from her mind the moment the scarlet train to Hogwarts appeared before her eyes. Smiling, and with the feeling that she was at last going home, Lily headed for the nearest door.

"Need some help?" Lily turned and saw a tall boy standing just a little ways to the right, his pale brown hair falling into his forehead, his eyes warm and his smile genuine. "With your trunk, obviously."

"No thanks," said Lily, smiling back. "I wouldn't mind the company, of course. You'll be coming up to the prefects' compartment, then?"

Remus Lupin shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he walked with her towards the train. "In a bit," he said at last. "Not right away, of course."

"Right, right. I don't suppose you know who the Head Boy is, then, since it obviously isn't you?" She'd been eyeing his jumper, and had seen no sign of the telltale badge.

"No idea," said Remus comfortably. "Still, I expect we'll find out soon enough."

"Doubtless," she agreed, stepping onto the train and giving it a fierce tug until it came on after her. Smirking lightly, Remus lifted the other end, and together, they battered their way to the front of the train, past the prefects' compartment and to the Heads' compartment. He gently placed it on the ground, and she thanked him at once. "I imagine I'll be quite busy this year, what with all the Head duties, but we'll still have time for Sunday afternoon Charms, won't we?" She smiled at him. Since the fourth year, it had become their habit to meet every Sunday afternoon to study Charms together in the courtyard, unless of course it was raining, in which case they'd retire to the library.

"We'll make the time," he promised at once. "D'you mind if I leave you here? I've got to go find my friends," he explained. "But I'll pop in for a visit, I promise."

"Oh, don't bother, we'll see each other at the meeting – go on, pass the word around, would you? One o'clock in the prefects' compartment, there's no need for us to meet before that – besides, I'd like to discuss things with the Head Boy first, and I do remember always hating having to wait in the prefects' compartment until the Head Boy and Girl came…"

"Sounds good," Remus quickly interjected when she paused for breath; Lily had to smile, for she knew she could ramble about her duties and schedules for a long time. "I'll see you then – and hey, maybe you ought to let your counterpart announce the patrolling schedules? In the interests of keeping the prefects awake, of course…"

Lily shot sparks at him from her wand; he laughed and slid the door shut as he left the compartment. Lily settled comfortably onto the seats; they were as scarlet as the train and very plush, much nicer than the normal compartments. She reminded herself that immediately following the prefects' meeting, she'd find her friends in their usual compartment and maybe even sneak them into this one, if the Head Boy, whoever he was, didn't object.

Lily settled herself in for a pleasant ride, certain that the Head Boy was due to arrive at any moment. She pulled out Pride and Prejudice and absorbed herself within its pages, waiting patiently.

An hour later, she was still waiting, but not quite so patiently now. Every few minutes, she'd glance at her watch and then look back to her book, only to realize that she'd lost her place. Eventually, she gave it up as a lost cause, and not a moment too soon, for the compartment door slid open.

Lily had been prepared to berate the Head Boy soundly for his tardiness, but the words died on her lips and, she said, in a somewhat strangled voice, "Oh. It's you."

"Yes, it's me," said James Potter in a disgustingly cheerful voice. He sat down, to Lily's abject horror. She instantly protested.

"You can't sit there, this is the Heads' Compartment."

"I know," said James, and tapped something – Oh, no, there must be some mistake – on his chest. He smiled, looking satisfied, as she took in the HB. "And I'm Head Boy."

She glowered at him. "How dare you," she hissed in a tight voice. "So what have you done with him? Tied him up and stolen his badge? You're not winning any points with me, Potter."

"I wasn't aware that I was trying," he retorted, but he seemed frankly bewildered by the venom in her tone. "Seriously, Evans – this isn't a joke. I'm Head Boy."

"Impossible," she said at once, shaking her head. "You weren't even a prefect. Ever."

"I think I know that, Evans," he said dryly. "Still, Dumbledore obviously thought I was the best man for the job."

"He's mad," she said flatly.

"Well, he is, a bit," agreed James, "but for other reasons than this. You're going to have to come to terms with it, Evans," he continued, sitting back comfortably, "because I'm here to stay."

Lily fell into her seat. She adamantly refused to believe it. James said nothing for a long while; they simply sat in a sullen silence. After almost an hour, during which Lily had unrelentingly glowered at him and James grew increasingly more uncomfortable, as he'd never been forced to endure such hostility without actually doing anything to either earn it or stop it, she said at last, "When I find the Head Boy, he and I are going to team up and emasculate you."

He stared at her, but she said nothing more. The sentence had been delivered in such a matter-of-fact way that James was almost positive she was actually going to do it. "You're a violent person," he said at length, "aren't you?"

She didn't bother answering him. Instead, she picked up her book and found her page. It was rather difficult to read with Potter staring at her, but she did her best to ignore him, musing that nothing in the world could rile her so much as a simple word from Potter. Normally, she was quite levelheaded and witty and sarcastic, but something about him made her lose her temper entirely.

"What are you reading?"

"I should think it would be obvious, Potter, seeing as the title is on the cover." James sighed; Lily returned to her book. He began, to her great annoyance, to hum tunelessly. Lily gritted her teeth against the noise, knowing that he was attempting to aggravate her, and firmly trying not to allow it to get to her.

James sighed. "Look, Evans, we're going to have to work together. I realize you don't believe I'm Head Boy, but…" He cast around for a way to show her that he was telling the truth, and then gave it up. "…Well, I am."

"That was very eloquent, Potter. I believe, so far, that you have not even managed to convince my book that you're the Head Boy. Congratulations."

He sighed again.

"Stop that."

"I'm not even doing anything!" he protested. "Why do I bother you so much?"

"Because you are an insufferable git, and I am being forced to suffer your presence."

"If I'm insufferable, then you can't really suffer me, can you? Because I'm INsufferable."

"Potter."

"Yes?"

"Go kill yourself. Painfully. Please." He stared at her wonderingly.

"You really are very violent. Have you considered therapy for that?" Lily nearly screamed. How could someone be so flippant?

Huh. Well, there was Sirius Black, she supposed.

"Potter," she said, in a weary tone, "I will accept, for the time being, that you are Head Boy, if you would please shut up and let me read. Or you could leave. That would make me happy, too."

"Well, I can't, see, because I have duties." Lily rolled her eyes. Did he have to act the part, too? All right, it was bad enough he'd stolen the poor Head Boy's badge and probably locked him up somewhere, but Potter actually appeared very serious about his so-called duties. She decided to humor him and set her book aside.

"All right, then, your duties. We have to come up with a patrolling schedule, naturally – which I've already done, of course; it's the same every year. And there is the Ministry visit during November, as well as internships during April. And, of course, we have to plan the Seventh-Year retreat."

"The what?"

"The retreat. Ever year, the seventh years go on a retreat, planned by the Head Boy, Head Girl, and the prefects. We have a budget, obviously, and we can certainly ask the other seventh-years their opinions, but when it comes down to the wire, the Head Boy and Girl have to make the final decisions. And, finally, we have to help plan for the legacy."

"The what?" said James again.

"The legacy, Potter. Where we leave a gift behind, for the school. Every class has done it, every year. Or didn't you notice?"

"No," admitted James at last, shifting his weight. "That's a lot of responsibility."

"There's a lot more to it."

"More?" groaned James. "I don't suppose there's a way I can opt out now, can I?"

"No, there isn't," she said brusquely, before realizing what she'd said. Merlin, I think I'm actually starting to believe this nonsense – but that's impossible. Not even Dumbledore would have made Potter Head Boy. Nobody is that insane.

"Worth a shot, I suppose," he said hopelessly. "When do we meet the prefects?"

"One o'clock," she replied, and stood. He glanced at her in surprise. "Which is now," she added in exasperation. "In case you didn't notice."

"I – oh." He stood up quickly, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Right. Well, let's do this, shall we?"

As they entered the prefects' compartment, Lily sent Remus a particularly chagrined look, her eyes asking the Why didn't you tell me? question. He sent her an apologetic look in response.

Mutters had instantly broken out when they entered, and Lily could hear the same question asked over and over: "What's Potter doing here?"

"All right, prefects, good afternoon," said Lily loudly, and everyone became silent at once. "I'm Lily Evans – obviously," she added with a smile, and a few of the younger boys chuckled. "And I'm your new Head Girl." She glanced at the Ravenclaw prefects, and identified Samantha Griffith, who was looking particularly sulky, her brown eyes bitter. When she saw Lily glance her way, she attempted to give her a strained smile nonetheless. "And… er, this is James Potter."

"As if we didn't know that," said a soft voice in the corner. Lily determinedly didn't glower at the speaker, Severus Snape; rather, she continued. "And he is your new Head Boy."

At once, mutterings broke out, and grumbles of "Yeah, right" and "Impossible!" were heard. Lily looked uneasily about the compartment, wondering if there'd be a mutiny from the seventh-year male prefects, all of whom (with the exception of Remus, who merely looked bemused) seemed furious about this appointment. She'd rather hoped, until this moment, that someone might correct this, but she had seen, the instant she came in, that all four male prefects from the previous year were there, and had resigned herself to the fact that Potter truly was the Head Boy.

"Oi!" said James indignantly. "Quiet down, you lot; can't you see the Head Girl's speaking?" If Lily was surprised that he had taken charge – and that people had actually listened to him – she didn't let on. When the mutterings subsided, she spoke again.

"All right, that's enough." She didn't add that He's what we've got so let's go with it, because she wanted to present a united stance to the prefects; establish authority early on. "Now, just as in the past years, we'll split into pairs, two per night, one pair for each shift. As Head Boy and Head Girl," she added for James's benefit, as he'd never been a prefect and didn't know the schedule, "we'll have to take three nights a week." James looked incredulous, and appeared to be stifling a groan.

"We're having the same schedules as always, aren't we?" asked Sam.

"Right," said Lily, nodding. "Since James and I are the Head Boy and Head Girl and we're both from Gryffindor, we won't have to worry about putting two seventh-years from different houses together." Looking at the fifth-years, she explained, "It's customary for the seventh-years to take on Friday and Saturday, as those are the…" She coughed. "Most active nights." There were titters from all around; Lily smiled a bit. She pulled a sheet of paper from her pocket and allowed it to be passed around. "I'll have actual copies sent out to you as soon as we get to school," she continued apologetically, "but it certainly wouldn't do you any harm to memorize yours now."

"Hang on," said a fifth-year Hufflepuff. "You say that Head Boy and Head Girl traditionally take three nights a week, and that's all very well, but there are you two, and, well, there's Lupin. Since we're doing it by house, that seems to leave Lupin out of patrolling."

Lily looked taken aback. "I – oh, I hadn't thought of that." She pondered briefly what to do, when James, who had been quiet thus far, piped up, his eyes lighting up.

"How's this? Remus and I will take one night, Lily and Remus can do another, and I guess… well, that leaves Lily and I to do the last one."

"That seems fair enough," said the younger boy, and sat back. Lily nodded, impressed with this plan, and plowed ahead.

"All right, then, has everyone got the schedule?" She noticed that the fifth-years looked a bit dazed, as though they'd only managed to glance briefly at the schedule without taking more than half of it in, if that. "All right, well, never mind. You'll have your own copies soon enough, detailing how things are done. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me any time. Next topic, then.

"The rules are the same as always: you are allowed to dock points, but only if you have a very good reason. Each time you do, you will be required to submit a form to your Head of House – they should have these forms, by the way – and if your Head of House clears it, you're fine; if not, then the points will be returned to whichever House they were taken from. If you take points unnecessarily more than three times in a semester," she added sternly, "you'll be placed on probation. You won't be allowed to take points for a time, and you'd better act like paragons of virtue, else you'll have your badge taken away. Understand?" Nods all around. "Excellent. You'll have to patrol the cars from time to time, although you're welcome to spend time with your friends as well. Seventh-years, stay behind; the rest of you can go."

Lily waited rather patiently as the students filed out, and when the compartment door slid shut, she faced the seventh-years once more. "All right, then," she said, clearing her throat. "We have the Ministry visit in November, of course, so we'll need to divide the rest of our class up for the tours and interviews. We'll also have to help with the internships in April, of course; you'll be your House advisors and in charge of helping them to choose where they'd like to go. Perhaps most importantly, we'll have to plan the retreat. Obviously, we'll have meetings for it - I'll let you know when those are – but in the meantime, start thinking up ideas, we'll need as many as possible. And remember, as seventh-years, we're allowed to go to Hogsmeade on non-visitation weekends, but make sure that your housemates understand that you've got to get permission from your Head of House, and no matter when you leave, you must be back before sunset, else you'll be prohibited from further weekends.

"Anything else?" Everyone shook their heads; Lily nodded. "All right, you're free to go." As students filed out, she pointed to Remus. "You. Stay here."

He grinned at her as the last few people filed out, and then immediately said, "I had no idea until I ran into James after I helped you with your things. Don't kill me for it."

"I actually was going to ask if you minded taking two patrols, even though you aren't Head Boy," she said with a grin, "but I do promise to restrain myself from murdering you in your sleep."

"I appreciate that," he said wryly, "and no, I don't mind. I'll have the time. Will you, though?" he asked, glancing at James.

He shrugged. "I actually read that stupid schedule. I noticed there was a patrol during the week, so if you could take that, it would be great, because we'll have practice. I can take the weekend patrols."

"There's nothing stupid, about it, Potter, it's customary, and if you didn't like it, you should have refused the badge when it was still early enough to do it."

"It's all right," said Remus quickly, "and this way, we're still in for the cup at the end of the year. Wouldn't do for the Captain not to show up to his own practices, right?" He grinned at James, who grinned back.

"That's true, I suppose," said Lily thoughtfully, and she nodded. "Well, I think that's about all there is left to discuss," she said briskly. "Oh, and Potter – you and I have a meeting with Dumbledore at eleven tonight, so don't expect to get much sleep."

James sighed. "This is going to be more work that I realized, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," she told him, pocketing the patrol schedule. "If you'll excuse me?" Without waiting for a reply, she left the compartment and returned to the Heads' compartment. Once there, she made sure her trunk was securely locked, gathered up her book, and went to look for her friends. James and Remus had disappeared in that time, and so she headed through the cars, greeting friends and acquaintances. The only awkward moment was when she ran into Honoria Rookwood, who was the seventh-year Slytherin prefect and actually a very nice person, sitting with her year-mates, all of them Slytherins. They sneered at her, although Honoria gave her a polite smile. As Lily continued on, she could hear them muttering about her, and decidedly ignored it.

It took her a good hour or so to reach her friends, and when at last she slipped into their customary compartment, all four girls stopped talking to stare at her. Lily smiled at them, and Sam spoke first. "So. Er… congratulations on getting Head Girl."

"Thanks," she said warmly, and added, "I was certain you'd get it, though." Sam seemed to know she was lying and rolled her eyes in response to this.

"Well, it's all right, just means I have more time for Charms Club, right? I thought you'd be President, but you have such a load to do already…" She trailed off.

"Oh, you'll get it," said Lily, nodding emphatically. "I'll back you, Sam, don't worry." The other girl seemed satisfied with that, and she sat back.

"Do we have to talk about school?" complained Bonnie from her seat on the floor. "We'll be there soon enough."

"Too right," agreed Janine, lolling all the way across one seat. Lily shoved her off and sat down primly, ignoring the other's dirty looks. "Did I tell you Mum went to speak to McGonagall? She reckons I'm failing Transfiguration. I'm not, though."

"She did tell you that you'd never pass her class if you didn't work harder," interjected Lily fairly. "I suppose you'll need a tutor, then?"

"No, I'll copy off of James's homework; he won't mind." Lily and Sam appeared to be struggling with this, knowing they were supposed to at least stop Janine, but Dorcas and Bonnie chimed in at once, eagerly asking if they could get some of the answers as well.

At long last, Lily burst out, "He won't let you copy this year." This caused Bonnie, Dorcas, and Janine to stare at her.

"Oh, he will," said Janine airily. "The problem is you—"

"No, he won't," interrupted Sam, nodding firmly. "He's Head Boy this year." The other three stared at them in astonishment. "It's the truth. Go find him and see for yourself."

Janine's jaw hung unattractively open as Dorcas stared from Lily to Sam, convinced it was all some sort of ridiculous joke, while Bonnie giggled reluctantly. "Oh, very funny. You almost had us with that one."

"I'm not kidding," insisted Lily, and she sounded terribly resigned. "He really is Head Boy. I've no idea how it happened, but it did."

"That's not on!" protested Dorcas indignantly. "He wasn't even a prefect!"

"Don't I know it."

"That wanker," muttered Janine. "He didn't even tell me."

Lily glanced at her warily. "Are you trying to protect yourself from my wrath, or did you really not know?" Janine glowered at her. "Right, so you didn't know." She sighed and settled more comfortably back into her seat. "Well, it's very simple. I've got to go speak to this about Dumbledore. He can't go around appointing non-prefects; it's terribly unfair."

"Maybe none of the prefects were suitable," interjected Bonnie fairly.

"Rubbish. Are you trying to tell me that he deserved it more than Remus? Even Snape would have been a more reasonable choice." Lily sighed again. "Not Potter, though."

"Well, that decides it," declared Dorcas. "He's gone barmy, 'round the bend, over the hill." She frowned. "I suppose the old man was always a bit mad, but this really tops it. You should talk to him, Lil."

"What can I do? I mean, all right, I said I would, but I won't, not really. It would be utterly ridiculous; Dumbledore would never listen to me, not on that. I've no right to go questioning his decisions." She stared out the window. "However preposterous they might be."

"James will hate being Head Boy," said Janine vehemently. "He'll actually have to uphold the rules this year, you know, and he'll hate that."

"If he hates it, he won't do it," pointed out Dorcas. "Think about it; what would you do? Abide by the rules or realize that your appointment puts you above them?"

"He's not above the rules!" snapped Lily angrily.

"No, and neither are you," said Sam suddenly. "Lily, we might as well admit that we've all broken the rules at some time or another. Or did you think that getting into a fight Albany Wilkes was allowed?"

"That was a different situation," insisted Lily at once. "Be reasonable, Sam. Albany threw the first hex. What was I supposed to do?"

"I never liked her," piped up Dorcas at once. "The Slytherin girls all have it coming to them, Sam, and Albany the most."

"Most definitely," agreed Janine, and a cool smile slid across her face. "No more big brother to protect her anymore, eh? We'll see how well she gets on without Samuel to back her up."

"No, we won't," said Lily sternly. "If she throws the first shot, that's fine, but you will not go deliberately picking fights with people." Lily almost laughed, for Janine's face indicated that Christmas had just been cancelled. "At least, not on my watch," she amended.

"So if you're not on duty…"

"I refuse to answer that question," she interrupted firmly, "so you will not finish it."

"Hypocrite," said Janine, making a face.

"I most certainly am not. Didn't I just tell you she threw the first hex? Of course, if Albany sees fit to curse you, then by all means." Janine sighed.

"You'll change your mind later."

"No, I won't. We aren't going to go picking fights. Things are bad enough as it is. Have you been to Diagon Alley lately?" she asked. Janine stared at her, startled.

"I, er – no, I haven't. Not during the day, anyway. Mother sent the house-elf to do the shopping, since there's only Perry and me to shop for," she explained quickly.

"Where is Perry, anyway?" Dorcas asked, looking around as if expecting him to pop out from behind one of them. "He usually sits with us."

"No idea," said Bonnie comfortably, referring to the youngest of the Garnets. "I'm sure he'll pop by later, though. Besides, you can hardly say usually, Dorcas, he was only a firstie last year and wanted a bit of company. I'm sure he's got loads of friends now."

"Oh, he does," said Janine, nodding her head. "I met his little girlfriend over the summer—" And here she smirked, "—and she's a right proper little Gryffindor, just his type. Talks a mile a minute, and lets him sit there and listen. They might as well get married and save themselves loads of trouble over the next few years."

"Janine?"

"Yes?"

"Your brother is twelve. He's not going to get married for a very long time. And anyway, shouldn't you parents be focusing on you?" teased Sam, the only other pureblood in the group. "After all, you're the only daughter, aren't you? I'm sure your mother is speaking with families now, trying to marry you off the instant you graduate."

"Never," declared Janine. "I'll marry – well, you – before I'd marry some soft pureblood who won't let me play sport," she said.

"As if that's the most important thing," said Lily with a teasing sneer.

"It is!" This caused her friends to break into laughter, and she looked sulky. "All right, go on, laugh. Anyway, if Mother thinks she's going to marry me off to someone like – oh, I don't know, say Rabastan Lestrange – well, she's… wrong," finished Janine rather lamely.

"Who do you plan to marry, then?" asked Dorcas with a smirk. "Travers, I suppose."

"How utterly ridiculous, Dorcas. I would never marry Quince. No, he and I will get a flat and live in sin for the rest of our lives." Lily snorted. "Laugh if you like, Lily, but you'll see. It's horribly improper for a pureblooded girl to live with another man if they aren't married, even just as friends. I imagine it will give Mother fits." She smiled again. "I can't wait."

X-X-X-X-X

A/N: I am sincerely sorry for the long wait, but I've been so busy lately that I just haven't had time. On a brighter note, I have exams this week (okay, so that's not so bright) but after that I'm on break for two weeks, so you can look forward to an update in at least ONE of my stories during that time, so long as dreaded writer's block doesn't strike. The next chapter of this may be a while in coming, but only because I have NO idea how to come up with a Sorting Song, so that's the part I need to work on. No, I'm not kidding. Chapter 5 is written in its entirety; so is a lot of chapter 6. I just need to tweak and come up with a Sorting Song. You would be surprised how utterly difficult that is.

On another note… I will update _Shades of Grey _and _What It Takes _eventually. I also have more stories pending—I know, right, how many more do I need going? But one of them—_We Could Have Been Great_—is a companion fic to this one, only it's written entirely from the Marauder's POV and they will snapshots in time, not an actual story. Another story I may or may not write—_Quite the Double Act, _which is solely about Sirius and James and their friendship. That one may or may not relate to this. There may be others; I haven't decided yet. So be on the lookout for those.

Again, I'm sorry for the long wait, and I can't guarantee that the long waits will improve because I've had a lot of work. But I promise to do my best, so leave me a review and tell me what you think! They help, seriously. I get some of my best ideas through reading reviews. So leave me one! And a Happy Holidays to anyone who celebrates (and even if you don't).

--Peaches 3


	5. Home At Last

Disclaimer: Characters and settings are property of J.K. Rowling. What you don't recognize is mine.

Author's Note: This is not, I repeat, _not, _the sequel to 'A Marauder's Girl.' Yes, this is set in the Marauder time frame, but it's an entirely different story. The character names might seem familiar, but I've changed quite a few personalities from that story, and this should not be taken as related in any way to that universe. You've been warned.

X-X-X-X-X

**Time of Our Lives Chapter 5 – Home At Last**

September 1976

Lily sighed peacefully as she entered the Great Hall amidst the chatter of the students around her. She spotted Janine settled in with their dorm-mates, two girls with whom Lily was friendly, if not extremely close. It was Alyssa Comforts, the blonde, who spotted her first and waved her over.

Bidding the second-years she had taken under her wing goodbye, Lily quickly skirted the crowds and seized one of the few available spaces left. Jennifer King smiled at her. "Helping along the little ones?" She glanced at the group of second-years, all of whom were watching them with curious expression. "Blimey, no way was I ever that small."

"Smaller, actually," said Janine with a tiny smirk. She and Jen, both purebloods, had known each other for a long time, while Alyssa had moved in what Lily had come to understand as the high society circle. Although the societal circles had never been fully explained to her, Lily understood that both Janine and Jen had come from families who were called "new blood" or "new money," as both had fathers whose families had only recently amassed the great deal of wealth that put them on the same level as – say, the Malfoys, at least in financial terms. Alyssa, meanwhile, had always moved in the "old blood" circles, but was nevertheless quite nice.

"Was I?" asked Jen in bemusement.

"Oh, yes. You always did look rather peaky, too – at least until the third year, anyway, when you filled out." She gave Jen a pointed look, and it was no secret that she was referring to Jen's abundant curviness. "Wish I could have, too," she admitted grouchily.

"And then you might have toppled off your broomstick from the unbalanced weight," said Jen with a smirk. "But I understand, darling – we aren't all blessed like I am."

"Stuff if, you," said Janine good-naturedly. The ritual bantering having passed, the girls settled into one of their favorite start-of-term topics – summer activities. "Have a good one, then?"

"The very best," said Alyssa with a blush warming her cheeks. "I'll have to tell you about Sven later."

"Sven?" asked Lily at once.

"Oh, he's the most darling Swedish boy – Muggle, I'm afraid, but of course I didn't tell my parents so, they'd have fits if they knew – he used to take me on little strolls around the village, you know, and I don't think he ever realized how many witches and wizards lived there – anyway, I have so many stories, but…" She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "…I can't really say them all here, if you catch my meaning."

"Did you do the deed, then?" asked Janine casually. Alyssa looked properly horrified and was blushing full-steam now.

"I refused to say anything that can be incriminating evidence later," she said quite firmly, and then flushed again. "But Mother would be furious if she ever discovered, and you know mothers do have a way of finding these sorts of things out…"

"Not mine," said Janine comfortably. "Well, that's not quite true. Mother's really very intelligent, in a bookish, researcher sort of way. I'm certain she has an inkling as to what I get up to in school, but she probably likes to delude herself that I'll wait for it, do it on my wedding night, and then never again… well, at least until I'm ready for children." She shuddered at the thought. "Could you imagine me, a mother?"

"No," said Jen vehemently. "I'd feel sorry for your child. Feeling a bit left out, aren't you, Lily?" Lily stared at Jen in surprise; the other girl was remarkably perceptive, and although left out was perhaps not the correct word, she had realized that there were subtle undertones to this conversation that she didn't quite understand. "Pureblood girls are supposed to remain virgins until the day they die," she said with an amused sort of look on her face.

"Or at least until they're married," interjected Alyssa, and then added with a sigh, "although no one ever does, you know. We all find ways around it."

"What happens if – well, if you're caught?"

"Nothing, usually, though your mother might be mortified and might consider you a full disgrace to the family," said Janine sweetly. "Your father, of course, is likely to take his wand to whatever poor bloke was the lucky – or unlucky, I suppose, in some cases – one to do it. But most mothers – even if they realize it, until they had evidence, they'll try to pretend they don't know. Like mine, for example. Speaking of her, did I tell you what she did this summer?"

Lily had known for a long time that Janine's mother worked with a foundation to help raised money for the war effort in whatever way was possible, although that money often went to rather misguided usages. One, for example – "They built a fountain in the Ministry atrium," explained Janine, and she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I saw pictures of it in the Prophet," said Lily, and her eyebrows rose. "Not what I expected, I must say."

"It's supposed to symbolize unity and all that rot," said Janine, rolling her eyes once more. "And whenever people visit, they're – er – encouraged to make a donation to the fountain. All proceeds to St. Mungo's, of course."

"Of course," agreed Jen. "A worthy cause, although, wasting so much money on a silly fountain…"

"To raise morale and hope," said Alyssa at once. "My father told me; he works at the Ministry. And anyway, the fountain is quite lovely, isn't it?"

"If you're into that sort of thing, I suppose," Janine answered, shrugging. "What did you think, Lily?"

"I'll tell you what I thought," said Lily with brutal honesty. "The wizard looked a bit stupid, and the witch was rather insipid, and I've never met a goblin or a centaur that would ever look at a wizard that way. The house-elf was convincing," she admitted, "but then, I suppose servitude can't be that hard to depict on an elf, as they never look any other way."

"True. I told Mother that they ought to have made the witch taller. My idea was a witch and wizard – facing one another, as if to duel, but holding wands aloft and crossed, perhaps emitting sparks – or water, I suppose, because it's a fountain, isn't it? – and without the adoring looks on the witch's part. Perhaps a look of – I don't know, confidence. That would give me hope. It wouldn't just demonstrate any particular sort of hope or anything, it would show equality between the sexes, which, if you ask me, is really what this world needs."

"Ridiculous," said Jen loftily. "When have you known wizards to treat witches equally?"

"Never," answered Lily before Janine could, "and I think that's exactly her point. They should be." She sighed. "It's disappointing, but then I always did think that so much of wizardkind is still stuck in the Dark Ages…"

"Maybe you ought to do something about it, then," answered Jen with a smirk.

Lily smirked back. "Perhaps I will," she allowed at last, and then Professor McGonagall stepped forward and briskly set the Sorting Hat and its stool at the front.

Lily never listened to the Sorting Hat's song anymore, mostly because it was a load of rubbish about getting along in the face of evil. A nice thought, to be sure, and it certainly would have been a fantastic idea if not for the fact that three-fourths of school despised the other fourth, and vice versa. In other words, "getting along" was utterly impossible, and Lily harbored no illusions that the Sorting Hat would ever be able to make such a difference.

Besides, thought Lily with a smirk, when have teenagers ever listened to sound advice?

As it finished, the school burst into immediate applause (even Lily, who clapped politely), and the Sorting began. Although Lily rather thought she ought to have been paying attention, she was distracted by the mere fact that Sirius Black kept shooting her delighted glances down the table, before breaking into sniggers behind his hand. She turned to the other girls, who didn't appear to notice.

"Jen, have I got something on my face?" she asked.

Jen screwed up her eyes. "Well, you have got a pair of eyes, and lips – ooh, and a nose, too." Lily glowered at her. "Well, what did you expect me to say?"

"Sirius Black keeps laughing at me."

"Sirius Black laughs at everything," said Alyssa at once. "You would do better to ignore that silly boy." Pausing for a moment, she then added, "Besides, he's laughing because he's telling James exactly what sort of things he should get up to the Heads' study. Can't you see James' face turning purple? That's why."

"How d'you know that?"

"Because he's been making fun of it since we got up to the castle," she said simply. "Like I said. You would do better to ignore the silly git."

"He's not silly," defended Janine. "Just a bit – rambunctious, that's all." She smiled down the table at Sirius, who, still sniggering, waved madly at her. "Oh, all right, I suppose he really is a bit silly."

"A bit?" asked Alyssa with a smile.

A Ravenclaw from the next table leaned over and shushed them with a fierce look. Lily gave him a quelling look, and saw his eyes go down to the badge on her robes. He went a greenish color and quickly turned around.

"Ah, power," said Janine with a dreamy smile, observing this interaction. "The ultimate motivation for pretending to follow the rules."

"Only motivation, you mean," corrected Jen. "Still, it's useful, innit? Lily can help us out of trouble!"

"Of course I will," said Lily briskly, "because you aren't going to get into any."

"Not on your watch," muttered Janine, and Jen had to giggle. Alyssa smiled at the pair of them, rather like an indulgent older sister, but McGonagall chose that moment to pause in her reading of the names and give them sharp looks. They quickly quieted, only to begin chatting again the moment their professor's attention left them.

"What about you, Jennie, how was your summer?"

"Boring," she pronounced at once. "My father made me get a job."

Janine pretended to make a face and spoke in an impressively snooty voice. "How positively bourgeois. Imagine! A proper girl like yourself, at a job. Where did you work?"

"In Hogsmeade," admitted Jen with a tiny smile. "Working in the Three Broomsticks isn't so bad, you know, because even the good-looking ones go to flirt with Rosmerta, and if she ignores them, they come onto me. Wasn't so bad, really, but it did get dreadfully uninteresting after a time. You've seen one good-looking drunk man, and you've seen them all. What about you, Lily?"

"Not much, really," she confessed. "I spent a good deal of time in Diagon Alley, actually, and it was really very nice, although it's a pity that nobody ever wants to say and chat. I did go into Flourish and Blotts quite often, of course, and I did find some awfully interesting old books, but I thought the Hogwarts Library would have them, and didn't bother to buy them."

"Did you get the new Billywig Stings album while you were there?" asked Jen at once. Janine and Lily exchanged looks; Lily's resigned, Janine's delighted at another chance to relate the story.

"Well, see, Potter sent Lily a gift just as he always does for her birthday…"

By the time she'd finished, both Jen and Alyssa were staring at her incredulously. "I wasn't about to accept it," she said defensively. "What if he'd wanted – I dunno, a date in return?"

"It's a present, Lily, he can't ask for something in return," said Alyssa quite kindly, as if speaking to a fairly simple person. "And the Billywig Stings! Really, a date might have been worth it."

"It most certainly was not," insisted Lily. "Besides, had I accepted it – which I've never done before, by the way – he might have taken it as – I don't know, a sign of something? I'll get it on my own when the rush had died down for it."

"There's a rumor going around that Dumbledore is somehow related to the lead guitarist," whispered Jen. "D'you suppose he could convince him to do a show in Hogsmeade, or something? Could you ask? You are Head Girl, after all."

"I doubt it's true, but I can ask," said Lily, and didn't get a chance to say more, as the Sorting had finished and Dumbledore had stood up to address them all. She pointedly turned her attention to him, as did her friends.

"Welcome!" he shouted, raising his arms. "Welcome to Hogwarts, to our hallowed halls of learning, where, hopefully, we will be able to stuff some knowledge into your brains if you are new, and to add more through your ears if you are old," he said, and a few people sniggered. Lily had to smile at the mad old Headmaster, whom she respected immensely despite certain decisions.

"No doubt you are all starving, and so I will leave my several very important notices until after. And now," and again, he lifted his arms, "we feast!"

At once, food filled the golden platters, and the noise level drastically increased as everyone reached forward with a clatter to fill their plates and chat with one another. Lily heaped steak-and-kidney pie onto her plate, saying, "You know, I've got a lot of wonderful ideas for this year. I want to help integrate the Muggle world into some of our activities, force wizards to accept it…" She trailed off, seeing the incredulous looks all around.

"Er – it's a worthy idea, Lil," said Janine hesitantly, "but no old pureblood wizard – like a Black, or a Malfoy, or an Avery – is going to accept anything remotely Muggle. You might have a mutiny on your hands."

"Besides," added Alyssa softly, "you're trying to force change. The Wizarding World hasn't changed in years, and you'll be turning us all upside down if you try to turn us Muggle."

"I'm not turning you Muggle," said Lily hotly. "Though you're already halfway there, aren't you? Or did you think that jeans were a wizarding thing?"

"All right, clothes is one thing, but next you'll be wanting to introduce Muggle music—"

"Which is far better than most wizarding music, the Billywig Stings excepted," declared Lily.

"—Or Muggle classes, or Muggle drinks, and well – it's a wonderful idea, Lily, to help bring the two worlds together in whatever ways are possible, but it isn't feasible. No pureblood will accept it."

"Some of them will," corrected Janine. "The ones from the old families won't, though." She propped her chin up in her hand, frowning thoughtfully. "Of course, what with the war, I doubt anyone will be able to think any ideas you have through."

"For heaven's sake, I'm not trying to turn you all into Muggles. I just want to introduce some Muggle aspects of life, that's all. Show people that Muggles aren't quite so awful as everyone imagines they are, that they're really very talented."

"Lily, I think—"

"—It's a good idea," said Jen firmly, cutting off Janine, startling them all. They all stared at her. "Really, the world needs to be more accepting. All this nonsense about pureblood supremacy – well, it's just that. Nonsense, really."

"It's not nonsense," said Alyssa quietly. "I could tell you right now my parents believe in it. I doubt they even have realized that I'm friends with a Muggleborn witch."

There was another stunned silence all around, as Janine at last said defensively, "Yes, a Muggleborn witch who's a rather better witch than all the rest of us."

"I'm not going to deny that," Alyssa protested at once. "Lily's my friend too, you know? It's just, my parents – well, we're not one of the old-old set, the really elitist ones like the Malfoys or the Blacks – but, well, they buy into all that pureblood supremacy, too, and I'm just saying that introducing Muggle ideas won't work."

Jen turned to Lily, lifting her chin slightly. "You should do it," she said adamantly. "It's a fantastic idea, and it's about time we forced some of these bigots to open their eyes – they aren't the only ones that inhabit this world."

Thankful for one vote of confidence, Lily looked to Janine expectantly. The brunette shrugged. "If you want to, go ahead. Personally, I think it's not a half-bad thing, showing people this stuff. I've been to the Muggle cinema with you, and I've gone shopping and heard the music and – well, I think it's fun, all that Muggle stuff you have. I'm just saying that plenty of others won't. Still, it's not a bad idea. It's actually quite a good one."

"Making a difference," said Jen softly, "starting right here at Hogwarts."

As if on cue, all three girls turned to Alyssa, who was shifting a bit uncomfortably. "Lil, I really think—"

Sirius Black suddenly squeezed in between Lily and Janine, to both girls' disgruntlement. He cast a wary eye at Lily, before drinking from her glass. "So. Ladies. Up for a fun night?"

"We have class tomorrow, Black," pointed out Lily flatly. "So don't expect any of us to be doing anything 'fun' tonight, unless you count sleeping."

"Sleeping can be fun," interrupted James, who had squeezed in on Lily's other side. To her horror, she felt a warm hand on her knee, a finger gently tracing circles on it. "…You know, if you're not doing much sleeping…"

She slapped his hand away, her eyes flashing. "Lay a hand on me, Potter, and I'll make sure you never have children."

"All right, all right," he said amicably, holding up his hands in surrender. "But you know, it would be fun. Last night of freedom and all that, right?"

"Except we have a meeting with Dumbledore tonight," retorted Lily scathingly. Sirius – and to her annoyance, her friends, too – visibly drooped at this. "So unless you'd like to invite our Headmaster along…"

Jen pursed her lips. "Well, you never know. He might be fun while he's drunk."

"Which we are never going to find out," said Lily firmly, although a smile was playing across her lips as she spoke. She then poked James in the shoulder. "And you should be setting a better example. We've not even been at school a full day, and you already want to go off partying!"

"You need to lighten up," James replied, ignoring her admonishment. He grinned again. "I can help with that, if you'd like."

"But I don't like," replied Lily hotly. "Would you remove yourself from my presence? Your big head is crowding this bench."

He sighed. "Lily, Lily, Lily. Why don't you like me?"

"James, James, James," she replied in the same tone, although her eyes were more mocking. "Why can't you take a hint?" She became abruptly aware that Jen and Sirius were conversing in low voices as Janine leaned over to the Ravenclaw table, whispering to Dorcas. Alyssa was toying with her food, carefully avoiding looking at Lily. Ignoring the blonde, Lily frowned at the rest. "What are you all up to?"

"Nothing," replied Sirius in a thoroughly unconvincing tone. "Come along, James, the lady doesn't want our company. See you later," he added with a wink to the other three girls. Then he nodded curtly at Lily. "Evans."

"Black," she replied just as shortly, before glowering at Janine. "Have you listened to anything I've said?"

"Darling, when do I ever listen to anything you say?" answered Janine, batting her eyelashes outrageously at Lily. "Seriously, Lily, James has a point. Lighten up a bit, would you?"

"Listen, it's our seventh year," persisted Lily. "The most important one. We can't afford to be cavalier, or we'll never get jobs, or anything."

"Lily, I'm going to go into Quidditch," answered Janine. "N.E.W.T.'s aren't for Quidditch players."

"Janie…"

"What? It's not like it isn't true. So." Janine leaned forward, placing her arms on the table. She tilted her head so that her hair hung in front of her, effectively shielding her face from any would-be lip-readers. "The boys' dormitory; twelve tonight. Reckon you can make it there after your little Heads' meeting?"

Lily bit her lip anxiously. Part of her realized that to do so would undermine her authority with the boys of her house, particularly if she were caught. Few were the people who knew about the more interesting side of Lily, and she rather preferred it that way. On the other hand, she could desperately use that last night of freedom. "Dorcas wouldn't be able to make it, nor would Samantha or Bonnie. Not if it's in the Tower."

"We'll sneak Dorcas in using a broomstick and the boys' window," she said impatiently, "and Bonnie isn't coming, she says she's still got a bit of her last essay to finish up, and you know Sam, it's difficult on the best of days to get her to party, and it's the night before classes begin. Now stop trying to invent excuses in your head—" Which, of course, was precisely what Lily was doing, "—And tell me if you're planning on coming, or not."

Lily looked at her expectant face, and realized she'd already lost the battle, because Janine knew quite well that Lily would eventually agree at any rate. "I'll think about it," she answered at last, and Janine sat back, satisfied.

The rest of the dinner passed rather uneventfully, until Dumbledore stood up at the end of the speech to make his announcements. "Now that we are all comfortable and sleepy and undoubtedly not paying attention – allow me to introduce your new Defense professor, Professor Jonathan Thatcher!"

Sirius shot Lily a very smug look down the table, which she studiously ignored. Besides, it was far more satisfying to ogle the new professor – who was, she had to admit, remarkably fit. Alyssa and Jen were staring avidly at him, while Janine merely harrumphed and proclaimed him, "decent enough," although Lily distinctly detected a sheen in the other girl's eyes, and had to laugh when Janine patted her hair and attempted to catch the man's eye.

"Decent enough, eh?"

"Decent enough," she reiterated, her eyes following Thatcher. The man seemed completely unaware that he was currently being carefully watched by every female member of the school – including quite a few teachers, and quite frankly, Lily never wanted to see that look on Professor Vector's face again. Instead, he sat down composedly after giving an aloof smile around the Great Hall.

"A few reminders to some of our returning students, as they always seem to forget the never-changing rules of Hogwarts… for example, the Forbidden Forest is, ah, forbidden. Do not enter that place unless you wish to die painfully."

"There's nothing painful in there," muttered Janine superiorly to a nearby third-year, who looked frankly terrified at the mere thought of going near the Forest.

"Never run into the werewolves running around, then, have you?" asked Sirius with a feral grin. This earned him a very reproachful look from his friends, and to Lily's surprise, he actually flushed brightly. Now that's interesting, she thought. Certainly something to ponder on a rainy day…

As Dumbledore finished his start-of-term speech – which was more or less the same as it had been every year, the usual drivel concerning Filch's restricted items, which nobody every listened to, as well as the general precautions for anyone wandering around by themselves, whether in the castle or not. Lily had heard it six times or so; she often thought of standing up and giving the speech for Dumbledore, just to see what he'd say. The only thing that varied every year was the announcement of the Defense professor, as that position seemed to change hands quite frequently. "Cursed," said Janine with a smirk. "Doesn't pay well enough," corrected Dorcas with an even wider smirk.

Lily stood up and addressed her table, ordering the first years (and the second years who'd forgotten) to follow her as she showed them the way to the Tower. When she was at last assured that they'd all found their correct dormitories and were on their way to bed, she bid a good night to her friends (knowing that she'd likely see them shortly thereafter) and left for Professor Dumbledore's office.

Even after six years of attending Hogwarts, it still took her an inordinate amount of time to find the Headmaster's office. By the time she reached it, she found James Potter waiting for her in front of the gargoyle with a grin that threatened to overtake his face.

"Hullo, Head Girl," he greeted her pleasantly. "Ready to take on Dumbledore?"

Lily ignored him and went up to the gargoyle. "Licorice Wands," she said clearly, and the stone gargoyle moved aside, revealing a staircase. Without waiting to see if he was following, she headed up, and once she reached the door, she rapped smartly on it. "Enter," said a voice within.

X-X-X-X-X

Albus smiled benignly as Lily Evans entered imperiously ahead of James Potter, who shuffled behind her with his hands stuffed into his pockets, a half-grin on his face. "Hello, Lily, James," he greeted them both. "I assume the Heads' compartment was comfortable as usual?"

"Very, Professor," said Lily briskly, smoothening her skirt. "If you wouldn't mind, would it be all right if we set to discussing the year immediately? I'm very tired-" She faked a yawn, "-and I'm sure you are, too."

Albus' blue eyes twinkled merrily behind his half-moon glasses. "Of course, I completely understand." Albus didn't fool himself to believing that he knew all of his students' secrets – and Miss Evans was one of the most secretive, without a doubt – but his hearing was excellent, and even from his place at the teachers' table, he had seen Sirius Black whisper to some of the other members of his house, and he had no doubt in his mind that Lily was very anxious to get to whatever he was planning.

After last year's fiasco concerning Remus Lupin and Severus Snape, Albus was rather disinclined to trust Black's judgment, but the knowledge that Lily, at least, might be along to keep an eye on the rash young man was a comfort. Children would be children, after all, and Albus was not one to deny them that last right, especially in such dark times as they were.

"Now, as you both know, being the Head Boy and Girl is a very weighty job. If either of you would like to take the last moment to opt out, now would be the chance." He noticed that James shifted rather uncomfortably, but said nothing. Lily's chin rose slightly, almost defiantly, her eyes full of confidence. "Excellent. I have absolute faith in both of you.

"You have both received a list of duties, which I am certain you have perused at your leisure, and I will leave you to it. I do, however, have to discuss a few certain matters with the pair of you. First of all, safety and security are our highest priorities this year. There is a war going on outside our walls, as you've undoubtedly noticed by now-" His eyes twinkled slightly at this, for the war had been going on for eleven years or so, "and it is my highest goal to keep as many students safe as is possible."

Albus noticed that Lily flinched ever so slightly at this. It had affected her personally, he knew. He remembered a very pretty girl, quite young, only twelve at the time, who'd had the straightest black hair he knew and the most vivid purple eyes he'd ever seen. He also remembered the shock and sadness that registered on four girls' faces, including this girl's face, as they returned from the holidays to find that their roommate and friend was no longer among them. He knew that she had noticed that he had not said all students.

"As Head Boy and Head Girl, I trust that the both of you will prevent our student population from doing anything too foolish this term.

"The hour is late, and I am certain you are anxious to get to your beds—" His eyes twinkled merrily at this, too, "—and so I would only request a mere moment more of your time. Before you make any concrete plans with the prefects concerning the Ministry visit, the internships, and the Retreat, I would have you discuss your ideas and your security measures with me, so as to ensure that all of you remain safe." He nodded gravely. "I think we shall leave it at that for tonight."

"Thank you, Professor." Lily rose first and shook his hand, business-like. Albus could not help but notice that Lily's handshake was very firm, very professional. James', while no less firm, was noticeably more relaxed and had an easier grace about it, less formal, more friendly. In that moment, Albus truly believed that he'd found the two perfect people for the positions he'd given them. "And a good night to you, as well."

"Night," muttered James, and he shoved his hands into his pockets and shuffled out as Lily swept rather imperiously from Albus' office. He watched them go, and as the door shut behind them, Fawkes alighted onto his shoulder. Albus stroked the phoenix's cheek, listening to him coo, and chuckled to himself. Those two would make for a very interesting year indeed.

X-X-X-X-X

A/N: Please see my profile for full explanations. If you don't, you won't know what's going on, and I don't really have the energy to explain it all over again. And just as an FYI: you may want to wait until after you have read what's in my profile before reviewing. Just a word to the wise, that's all.

--Peaches

P.S. Seriously. Go read my profile. I'm really pleading here. It's the only way I can explain and I don't want to do it again. And thanks, as always, for reading (and reviewing, if you do).


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